A divorced father in Virginia dumped 80,000 pieces of pennies (amounting to US$800.00) in his ex-wife’s front yard to pay his final child support arrogantly and embarrassingly. On the contrary, the mother and her daughter decided to respond positively to the incident by donating all of the money to charity, and their heartwarming deed touched the hearts of people around the world.18-year-old Avery Sanford is a student at Deep Run High School in Glen Allen, Virginia. One day, when she was still in school, her father came by their home, driving an SUV connected to a dump trailer. Raising the back trailer of the truck, he discarded 80,000 pieces of pennies (1¢ coin) in their front yard.
Initially, Avery’s mother, Raven Sickal, did not recognize the man and rushed outside to know what the commotion was about. When she came close to him, she realized it was her ex-husband who yelled, “This will be your last child support payment!”
When Avery arrived from school, the coins were still littered on the sidewalk. Avery and her mother did not expect to receive the stack of pennies, leaving them shocked and devastated. “It’s not just my mom he’s trying to embarrass,” Avery said in an interview with WTVR. “It’s also me and my sister, and it’s upsetting that he didn’t consider that before he did this.”
However, Avery and Raven did not retaliate. Instead, they decided to donate all the money to Safe Harbor, a charity that aids survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and human trafficking.
“It’s incredible,” Safe Harbor executive director Cathy Easter told Inside Edition. “They are not defeated by these malicious actions, but they are united by deciding to continue noble and loving actions.”
Cathy added that the organization staff was very grateful for Avery and Raven’s contribution. Unexpectedly, when the news went viral online, more people globally were inspired by the kindhearted deed of the mother-daughter duo and donated to the organization. The charity revealed that they received over US$47,000.00 in donations from the public.
Raven and Avery were impressed by their positive response to an embarrassing incident has made. Their kindhearted deed made a great impact on people. “Turning around and donating that money to moms and children in need, I feel like that really turns this situation into a positive one,” Avery said. “You can learn a lesson from it.”
Avery Sanford entered Virginia Tech College after graduating from high school. She admits that she has not been getting in touch with her father in a long time and has no interest in reconnecting with people who disrespect her mother. “It’s really hurtful and damaging to your kids when you do things like that,” Avery said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re young or an adult. The actions of your parents will always have some effect on you.”
When WTVR asked Avery’s father why he did such an inhumane action. He claimed that his “emotions got the best of him” and said that “the last thing he wanted to do was to put a further wedge between him and his daughter.” Unfortunately, he will have to deal with the consequences of his actions.