Good Samaritan pays layaway balances at Walmart

BUCKEYE, Ariz. (KSAZ) - A valley grandmother will be able to wrap some Christmas gifts up for her grandchildren this year. It's all thanks to a complete stranger who picked her layaway order tab and paid it off.

Yvette Ortega had picked out some electronics, games, and toys for her grandkids this Christmas. For the first time this year, she used the layaway system to pay them off over time. She says affording gifts has been tough.

"This Christmas due to illness and medical bills it was hard," said Yvette Ortega.

Then she got a phone call from WalMart that brought her to tears. A Good Samaritan had paid for her layaway items. Yvette and the messenger met for the first time when she went to pick up her order.

"This is the one that cried, she's the one that called me," said Ortega.

At the Buckeye, WalMart Layaway Angels have paid off nearly a dozen orders, and the Good Samaritans are looking for random orders, mostly those that contain toys.

"It is very random, one had a $300 balance, and they paid off that balance, and it could be as low as $40 and they paid that off," said Manager Natasha Watkins.

Yvette only put a few things on layaway because that's all she could afford. Now that someone has done a good deed for her, she wants to pay it forward.

"It's restored my faith, it really has," said Ortega.

Yevette may never meet her layaway angel, but she wants that person to know how very grateful she is.

"Thank you, thank you so much, you're giving just brought so much happiness to my family and me," she said.

WalMart managers say for the past few years dozens of so-called layaway angels have come forward to pay off Christmas gifts for people who could use a helping hand.