Secret Santas Spreading Holiday Cheer Throughout Colorado

The generous wake of so-called "Secret Santas," anonymous individuals that pay off bills, pay down layaway accounts or give out money to complete strangers in need during the holidays, has been felt all over the nation -- and Colorado has been no exception.

Earlier in December, a set of Firestone grandparents had put several toys on layaway for their 7-year-old grandson. When they went to pay off the balance, they discovered that an anonymous woman had come in and paid off the account balance in full, 9News reported.

Although not anonymous, Poudre High School in Fort Collins held the largest school food drive in the state in December -- more than 400 families received boxes filled with food and household necessities, according to The Coloradoan.

The Denver Post reported that at a single Kmart in Englewood, anonymous Secret Santas paid off or paid down orders for customers who had items on layaway. The Kmart employees take great pride and joy in calling their customers to tell them that their account balance has been lowered to only a few cents or paid off entirely.

CBS4 reports that more than 250 families have been helped at the Englewood Kmart with donations reaching nearly $10,000. "This is what it's supposed to be like at Christmas time," Kmart Assistant Manager Annette Pride told CBS4. "You give to people you, you care about other people."

On Wednesday evening in Glenwood Springs another Secret Santa went even further. The Post Independent reports that an anonymous man from "out of town" went to a local Wells Fargo branch and withdrew $10,000 in hundred-dollar bills and immediately began to hand out money to bank customers who were waiting in line to make transactions.