Father Pays Final Child Support With 80,000 Pennies — Mom and Daughters Donate Coins To Charity

Jul 02, 2021 by apost team

Every child naturally wants to look up to their parents, but sometimes the people in our lives who are supposed to set a good example end up failing us. This was the case for one teenage girl who should have been having a celebration and instead got a rude surprise. 

Avery Sanford from Richmond, Virginia turned 18 in June of 2021. She was working on schoolwork when her father pulled up to her house and dropped 80,000 pennies in front of her yard, claiming that was his final child support payment. With no love or kindness to show his daughter on her birthday, Avery’s father left.

This is when Avery did something incredible. Instead of wallowing in grief for her lost relationship with her father, which she has every right to do, the teenage girl decided to do something that would help change the lives of those who desperately need it. Avery and her mother scooped up every penny they could and donated the money to a charity called Safe Harbor, which is a domestic abuse shelter in the area.

Avery is on to a bright future, she will be starting as a Freshman at Virginia Tech in the Fall of 2021. The teenager has decided not to have a relationship with her father and said that she does not talk to him. When speaking with a reporter over the phone, Avery’s father claimed his emotions got the best of him and he was not trying to bring about more conflict with his daughter. Keep reading to hear the rest of this story.

Avery and her family spoke about the incident with WTVR CBS 6. "I just turned 18," she said. "When I was in the middle of class, my dad came by. He had rented a trailer."

The teenage girl explained what happened next saying, "He pulled up in front of our house, like turned the trailer on so it dumped out all the pennies in the street in front of our house. And my mom walked outside while it was happening. She didn't recognize them at first. And she asked, what are you dumping on my lawn? And he said it's your final child support payment. And that's when she realized who it was," said Avery.

Avery is a smart girl and she realized that her father was doing this in an attempt to get back at her mother. However, that does not mean the event did not affect her. Avery shared, "It's not just her that he'd be trying to embarrass. It's also me, it's also my sister. And it's upsetting that he didn't really consider that before he did this.” 

It was Avery and her mother’s idea to donate the money to charity instead. The daughter explained, "Turning around and donating that money to moms and children in need, like I feel like, that just really turns the situation into a positive one. You can learn a lesson from it."

For only being 18, Avery has a very mature outlook on the situation. "It is really hurtful and damaging to your kids when you do things like that. And it doesn't matter how old your kids are. It doesn't matter if they're a young child or an adult," said Avery. "The actions of your parents will always have some effect on you."

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What would you do if something like this happened to you? Would you also donate the money to those in need? Let us know your opinion, and be sure to send this to your loved ones.