Brighten Your Day

Secret Santa is handing out $100,000 in cash this Christmas season

December 14, 2012

A Secret Santa has been cruising the streets of Kansas City handing out $100 bills to random people in an effort to help raise spirits this holiday season.

Remaining anonymous and attemmpting to avoid the media, this successful business man goes by the name "Secret Santa", which he stamps in red on all of his bills.

His method of choosing people varies. Generally he looks for people that could use the money the most.

"I look on the face, and I look for sadness, and when I find sadness there needs to be hope, so that's who I usually approach first, " Secret Santa told reporters in an interview.

His generosity is bringing nothing but smiles and tears of joy to Kansas City this Christmas. However, this Secret Santa is not the original.

In 2007, this Secret Santa took over the mission started by his friend, Kansas City millionaire Larry Stewart. Stewart gave away over $1.3 million since 1979. Stewart passed away in 2007.

This year, Secret Santa is giving away $100,000. In some cases, he gives more than $100 to a family in need.

A mother of four, Dana Gregg told Secret Santa that one of her daughters is terminally ill and leaving behind a newborn baby. Secret Santa gave her $1000 to help. Gregg kindly accepted, with tears of joy falling down her face thanking him.

The money might not save her daughter's life, but it sure will help toward expensive medical bills and caring for her grand daughter.

Secret Santa's mission is to help others and set a good example that he hopes others will follow. He doesn't expect everyone to be able to give away hundreds of thousands of dollars every year, but he does ask others to do their part in making the world a better place.

"I would encourage everyone to give themselves a gift this Christmas," he explained, "and that's to do a random act of kindness for somebody else, because you'll get more back than what you give."

He wears a Santa hat with "ELF" stitched on the back. He says it stands for "Ever Lasting Friend".

Apparently Secret Santa even visited New York after Superstorm Sandy and handed out money to random people who are suffering the after effects of the devastating storm.

What a happy, feel good story for this Christmas season!