A “Secret Santa” is giving $1 million to deserving people in eastern Idaho this holiday season, announced East Idaho News, which reports and administers the donations from the mysterious anonymous donor in the state.
The news outlet has already started its series of videos of surprised recipients.
Among the first is a Blackfoot, Idaho, woman named Gloria Rivera, whose daughter, Rebecca, “was the victim of a senseless murder, leaving behind her ten year old daughter and a heartbroken family.”
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The online news outlet continued, “Rebecca’s murder, as far as investigators can tell, was unprovoked. She was simply in the safety of her own home when she was shot by someone she did not know. The family is left to carry on this financial burden of costs associated with her death.”
Authorities charged as an adult a 16-year-old named Bobby Jackson with first degree murder for allegedly killing the 30-year-old mother by shooting her in the head.
While previous reports do not state a clear motive, according to police reports, Blackfoot officers discovered Jackson was on probation out of Twin Falls for “pointing a fake gun at someone’s head to steal.”
In the featured video, the East Idaho News “elves” surprised Gloria with a special gift.
The Secret Santa began in 2015 with an initial donation of $100,000, with the amount of money donated increasing every year, according to the news outlet.
The Secret Santa is reportedly a native Idahoan who lives in the eastern part of the state and the money comes directly from him. It is “not a program, organization or trust fund,” the outlet stated.
Readers and viewers nominate the people “in need” and they are vetted and decided by a “small group close to the Secret Santa.”
A total of $5.6 million has been gifted in the ten-year charitable effort.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
