GALLIPOLIS, Oh (WSAZ) -- Six local families got a surprise Christmas present from a complete stranger.

One man, looking to give back, paid off $1,000 worth of layaway orders at the Gallipolis, Ohio Kmart.

He asked the manager to give the money to families who needed it most and asked to remain anonymous.

Kmart's assistant manager, Mary Ewing, says they call him the layaway angel.

"I was here the day he came in," Mary Ewing said. "I took him back to layaway and he said that he had $1,000 that he would like to pay on people's layaway's that had children items in it that was getting returned back to stock."

Ewing says if the item was being returned back to stock, that means the person who placed the order could not pay for it.

"He said, here's the $1,000. You make the choice," Ewing said. "Who needs it the worse. Which i did. I went through the return to stock list and chose the names, the contracts, paid off the contracts."

Ewing says she tears up just talking about it.

"I'm always in tears," she said. "I mean, they cry... i cry. Over the phone they cry, i cry. And it's just a wonderful experience."

Jon Hudnall manages the Gallipolis Kmart.

He says when he met the layaway angel he gave him a big hug and an even bigger thank you.

"The layaway angel said that he didn't have money growing up so he couldn't help people out," Hudnall said. "So now that the layaway angel has aged he can help people out."

Ewing says that despite the dark events of the past few weeks,
things like this offer hope and help bring back the joy of the season.

"There are nice people out there. good hearted people that are willing to help," Ewing said.