Photo via: The Independent
Just in time for the holidays, multitalented entertainment mogul Tyler Perry decided to pay forward some holiday cheer in a big way. He paid off close to $434,000 of merchandise being held in multiple layaway accounts at two Atlanta-area Walmart stores.
As of 9:30 am on Thursday, Perry paid off all layaway accounts with an active remaining balance at an East Point Walmart and a Douglasville Walmart. While he originally intended to execute the thoughtful gesture anonymously, word quickly spread of his great deed causing him to “confess” on social media and also share a personal message to the families that would be directly affected by this recent act of kindness.
“I know it’s hard times, everyone’ s struggling and I’m just really, really grateful to be able to be in a position to do this,” Perry said. “So, God bless you, go get your stuff and Merry Christmas.”
Douglasville Walmart manager, Shameka, shared with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that her store typically has 1,000 layaway accounts during the holiday season. While she’s seen folks come in to anonymously pay off one or two accounts, she had never witnessed anyone paying off every account for the entire store.
“I was shocked,” she said. “It shows that we know there’s still good people in the world.”
Walmart responded to Perry’s act of kindness by tweeting: “Anonymous or not, we hope you know that you just made Christmas for so many families. You went above and beyond. Thank you #SparkKindness.”