NEW YORK — A wealthy Missouri man posing as “Secret Santa” stunned
New Yorkers, handing $100 bills to many in Staten Island who had
lost everything to Superstorm Sandy.
The Kansas City businessman is giving away $100,000 this holiday
season, and spent the day in New Jersey and New York giving away
thousands. But he says money is not the issue.
“The money is
not the point at all,” said the anonymous benefactor on Thursday as
he walked up to surprised Staten Island residents and thrust crisp
bills into their hands. “It’s about the random acts of kindness.
I’m just setting an example, and if 10 per cent of the people who
see me emulate what I’m doing, anybody can be a Secret Santa!”
A police
motorcade with sirens took him across the borough, passing a church
ripped from its foundations and homes surrounded by debris. At a
nearby disaster centre run by volunteers, a woman quietly collected
free food and basic goods.
“Has anyone
given you any money?” he asked her.
“No,” replied
Carol Hefty, a 72-year-old retiree living in a damaged home.
“Here,” he
said, slipping the money into her hand.
“But this
isn’t real money!” said Hefty, glancing at the red “Secret Santa”
stamped onto the $100.
“It is, and
it’s for you,” he told her.
She broke
down weeping and hugged him.
And so it
went, again and again.
Secret Santa
started his daylong East Coast visit with stops in Elizabeth, N.J.
Keeping close watch over the cash handouts was his security
entourage — police officers in uniform from New York and New
Jersey, plus FBI agents and former agents from various states. Some
have become supporters, wearing red caps marked with the word “elf”
and assisting “Santa” to choose locations where people are most in
need. He himself wears an “elf” cap and a red top, plus blue
jeans.
The group
must choose stops carefully, and refrain from simply appearing
outdoors in a neighbourhood, lest they be mobbed by people hearing
that cash is being handed out.
At a stop at
a Staten Island Salvation Army store, one woman was looking over a
$4 handbag. “But you get $100!” he told her, offering the bill.
“Are you
serious?” said Prudence Onesto, her eyes widening. “Really?”
“Secret
Santa,” he deadpanned, breaking into a broad grin.
The
55-year-old unemployed woman opened her arms and offered him a
hug.
An aisle
over, 41-year-old Janice Kennedy was overwhelmed: She received four
$100 bills.
Unemployed
with a 2-year-old daughter, she lost her home in the storm and
lives with her boyfriend. The money will go toward Christmas
presents and her toddler’s next birthday.
“You’re not
alone. God bless you!” the Missouri stranger told Phillip and Lisa
Morris, a couple in their 30s whose home was badly damaged — but
now had an extra $300 in cash for rebuilding.
Secret Santa
took up the holiday tradition from a close Kansas City friend,
Larry Stewart, who for years handed out bills each December to
unsuspecting strangers in thrift stores, food pantries and
shelters. Stewart died in 2007 after giving away more than $1
million to strangers in mostly $100 bills.
he current
Secret Santa will not divulge his name. Nor does he allow his face
to be photographed. But he said he’s been to cities across America,
from San Diego to Chicago to Charlotte, N.C.
A reporter
asked whether he might be a sort of Warren Buffett of Kansas City.
He smiled mysteriously and said only that he admires Buffett for
his philanthropy. “And I hope I give all my money away before I
die.”
Then, as
suddenly as he arrived, the generous stranger left for the airport
and home, riding in the volunteer motorcade he jokingly calls “my
sleigh,” zipping with ease through red lights and city traffic.
