LYNNWOOD, Wash. — An anonymous donor paid for several families’ layaway gifts at a Lynnwood Toys"R"Us over the weekend.
That included the layaway account of Douglas Davis, whose family had $350 left to pay for their children’s toys.
Davis told KIRO 7 that the gesture meant more than just money; he is now able to free up this money to be able to fly to visit his mother, who is terminally ill with ovarian cancer.
"This is an amazing gift to give my kids. I mean, they didn't just give me a gift. They gave me the opportunity to take another flight back to see my mom," Davis said.
The family was able to fly to Iowa to see her over Thanksgiving, but Davis was waiting until the toys were paid off to buy another plane ticket.
Davis said money was a bit tighter this year, because he got injured on the job. He works as a Certified Nursing Assistant at a hospital and was not able to go to work for months.
Known as “Big Doug” at the hospital, he said he always makes sure to take care of patients and their families.
“When you give good, then good happens to you,” he said.
He said he and his wife thought that a layaway plan would allow them to have a place to hide the presents from the children and also allow for them to budget their finances.
He said they were about to pay the remaining $350 bill on Saturday to bring home the toys, but his wife got an email saying it was all paid.
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“I thought she was pulling a prank on me, and she thought I was pulling a prank on her,” he said.
When they realized a stranger had taken care of the bill for more than 20 families, Davis said he felt compelled to pay it forward.
He said later that day, he saw two police officers at a Subway.
“I said, ‘excuse me, sir.’ I said, ‘I got this.’ And they kind of looked around, and I said, ‘actually I got both of these guys,’” Davis said.