OMAHA (AP) – The young father stood in line at the Kmart layaway counter, wearing dirty clothes and worn-out boots. With him were three small children.

He asked to pay something on his bill because he
knew he wouldn’t be able to afford it all before Christmas. Then a
mysterious woman stepped up to the counter.

“She
told him, ‘No, I’m paying for it,’” recalled Edna Deppe, assistant
manager at the store in Indianapolis. “He just stood there and looked at
her and then looked at me and asked if it was a joke. I told him it
wasn’t, and that she was going to pay for him. And he just busted out in
tears.”

LAS VEGAS — Despite the struggling economy, officials with the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon say contributions and pledges from this year’s Labor Day event totaled $58.9 million.

While the amount was down from $60.5 million last year and a record $65 million in 2008, Lewis said he was pleased with the support to advance the research and service programs of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

“I’m heartened by the unique ability of Americans to help others in need, when they themselves are likely struggling financially,” said Lewis, national chairman of the Tucson, Ariz.-based MDA.

(AP) A mystery is unfolding in the world of college fundraising: During the past few weeks, at least nine universities have received gifts totaling more than $45 million, and the schools had to promise not to try to find out the giver’s identity.

One school went so far as to check with the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security just to make sure a $1.5 million gift didn’t come from illegal sources.

“In my last 28 years in fundraising … this is the first time I’ve dealt with a gift that the institution didn’t know who the donor is,” said Phillip D. Adams, vice president for university advancement at Norfolk State University, which received $3.5 million.