CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — On Friday morning, the City of Chambersburg woke up to a special surprise.
Several dozen neatly wrapped presents were placed underneath the Christmas Tree in Chambersburg's downtown square.
Lauren Formosa, who works for the Franklin County Visitor's Bureau, said she saw the presents when she walked into work.
“I was turning the lights on and that’s when I looked out here, and I noticed that there were packages under the tree," Formosa explained.
Next to the presents sat a note, saying the gifts were for families in need. The letter was signed by 'Mrs. Claus.'
“Nobody knows who Mrs. Claus is," said Formosa. "Whoever it is, they really blessed a lot of people in this community.”
What started as a random act of kindness soon caused a ripple effect throughout downtown Chambersburg.
Lawrence Johnston and Jacqui Wolfe, who work with Homeless Matters in Chambersburg, saw the display when they were dropping off a gift at the Sheriff's Office. They then pulled their truck full of gifts up towards the tree and proceeded to give away everything they had to hundreds of people in need.
“I said to myself, ‘This is a perfect opportunity for us to give out some of the stuff in our Homeless Matters truck,'" said Johnston.
“We gave them hygiene kits we had in our truck. We had coats collected. We had children’s toys and games," said Wolfe. "Everything was handed out within an hour.”
The giving spirit was on full display in downtown Chambersburg, thanks to a single act of kindness from Mrs. Claus.
“[There were] lots of tears of appreciation. It was really beautiful to see this happen in our small town," said Formosa.