'Layaway Angels' found all across RI

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - In recent years, stores across the country have seen an increase in patrons paying-off a complete stranger’s layaway, right before the holidays.

Given the nickname of “layaway angels,” these good samaritans would help out other customers just trying to afford gifts for their family.

We wanted to know if we could find some angels right here in the Ocean State, so we dug a little deeper. As it turns out, one local store is experiencing another successful season of “layaway angels.”

According to Arnold Bromberg, a spokesperson for Benny’s, they have appeared in almost every single one of their stores in Rhode Island. “We have 32 stores and it’s happened virtually in every store,” he told us.

Some “layaway angels” have even paid-off gifts from multiple strangers. At Benny’s in Providence, one kindhearted individual covered the cost of 8 different orders.

Bromberg says “this is what Christmas is all about. It’s people taking care of other people.”