South Dakota Students Get Mystery Gift: $1K to Pay Forward

SCOTLAND - Elementary school students in the southeastern South Dakota town of Scotland have received a mystery "pay it forward" package filled with $1,000 for the third time in eight years.

The students don't know the name of the giver, who remains anonymous and has been nicknamed "Secret Santa." Superintendent Damon Alvey tells the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan newspaper that the packages arrived in 2005, 2010 and this school year. He says each package has had 100 envelopes, each containing $10.

Alvey says the packages also have included a letter talking about knowing the good in the world and urging students to pass on their good fortune to others. He says school officials have distributed the money and hope to eventually put together a journal on how it was spent.

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