Secret Santa paid for all layaway orders at Toys ‘R’ Us

Call it a Black Friday miracle. When Charlie K. headed out to his local Toys ‘R’ Us in Cherry Hill, New Jersey to do some Christmas shopping for his son, he decided to pay it forward—big time. Charlie opened up his heart and his wallet. He picked up the tab for 8,000 items that customers had on layaway at the store, totaling $10,000.

Charlie’s thoughtful gesture is his way of giving back to his neighbors.

“I’m trying to bring some happiness to people, to the community that brought happiness to me and my family,” Charlie told CBS Philly. “I love this community and I am trying to provide back to it.”

That was just the beginning of Charlie’s generosity, however. He also had everyone shopping in the store choose three items for him to purchase to donate to Toys for Tots, a nonprofit program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve that distributes holiday gifts to kids whose families cannot afford them. The customers’ picks added another $2,000 to Charlie’s bill.

“The Marines and Toys for Tots are one of the best organizations, and I don’t want to forget them,” Charlie said.

While Charlie says he tries to help out his community whenever he can, the idea to donate in this way came to him on a whim this morning.

“I was thinking about shopping for my son, and I realized some people are a little less fortunate. I realized this Toys ‘R’ Us was closest to some of the more impoverished neighborhoods. And I wanted to be able to help the people that helped me the most,” he said.

Watch Charlie talk about his inspiring act of kindness and generosity in the heartwarming clip below:

Kudos to this very special “Secret Santa” that is sure to make a lot of kids’ holiday seasons merry and bright!

[h/t CBS Philly]