Beaufort woman pays it forward after receiving $300 from a stranger

Beaufort resident Hannah Cordill and her three children were waiting to see Santa Claus last week when a stranger walked up and changed the family's perspective of the season.

Cordill and her family were at Beaufort's Night on the Town on Bay Street and visiting Santa. A man asked a family friend if she was with the Cordills, handed her $300 cash and said to make sure the family has a good Christmas.

"That's such an incredible thing to happen to you," Cordill said Friday. "We decided we were really blessed and decided this was our turn to pay it forward.

In turn, Cordill doubled the gift and has given the community $600 worth of cheer this week.

A family in need received a care package and gift cards. The Cordills went on a shopping spree for Toys for Tots, gave away coffee gift cards in Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, brought cookie cakes to area fire departments and delivered a large donation of needed items to Citizens Opposed to Domestic Abuse.

Cordill has since heard from friends who have taken coffee to a doctor's office and given gifts to an angel tree at church.

Lady's Island resident Gene Brancho was a recipient of the Cordills' giving in Waterfront Park on Thursday. Cordill and her son gave Brancho a Common Ground Coffee gift card and candy cane, wishing him Merry Christmas.

Brancho then walked in another Bay Street shop and handed a cashier a pair of gift cards.

"I have children, and I thought what she was doing with her son was wonderful character-building," Brancho said. ""He'll probably remember that the rest of his life."

Cordill agreed. She said it was important for her children -- ages 2,4 and 6 -- to experience at an early age.

"We will definitely now do this every year," Cordill said. "We have always talked about doing things like this, and life gets busy, and you never actually do it until something happens to you.

That's what prompted us to do something."

Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Beaufort woman pays it forward after receiving $300 from a stranger."