Anonymous Donor Covers Entire Complex's Rent

The days before Christmas are typically replete with stories of extreme generosity—like those annual tales of huge Salvation Army kettle donations—but as for what happened in Newpark, Utah, well, "I have never seen anything of this magnitude in the 10 years that I have been doing this." So said Angie Davis, the district manager for the 38-unit Newpark Studios apartment complex, who found herself on the other end of an unusual phone call just before the holiday. A donor who asked to remain unnamed wanted to cover the entire complex's January rent, which totaled about $25,000, and did, reports the Park Record.

The paper reports that most of the people who occupy the affordable housing units are young and work in the service industry; tenants must be income-qualified to secure one of the units, which range in size from 395 to 448 square feet. A 30-year-old tenant says the timing couldn't have been more perfect. "I'm able to enjoy a holiday and give presents without losing sleep over whether my rent going to be on time or late. It felt good that I could give to people because someone gave to me." The gesture wasn't the only rent-related one to grab headlines in 2015: After Chicago's ABC7 profiled a homeless family in November, an anonymous donor covered an entire year of rent for LaToya Ellis and her three children, the station reported. (More uplifting news stories.)