Avery Sanford donated her child support money to Safe Harbor, a domestic abuse center.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on June 21, 2021. It has since been updated.
One heartless father hurt his daughter by his actions. Instead of dwelling in sadness, the clever girl turned her father's appalling act into an act of goodness.
According to Metro, Avery Sanford's father made a shocking delivery of 80,000 pennies on her front lawn in May 2021. Reportedly, the teenager's father was making his last child support payment of $800. Her father's insensitive act hurt Avery. Luckily, the teenager from Virginia did not let her emotions get the best of her.
Recalling the painful incident, Avery stated, "I just turned 18. When I was in the middle of class, my dad came by. He had rented a trailer," according to WTVR. Further, the student from Deep Run High School went on to say that her father's act infuriated her mother.
Dad dumps 80,000 pennies on mom's lawn as final child support payment. His daughter responds with kindness. https://t.co/Qlmg2qpPzF
— Paul Wiggins (@paulwiggins) June 12, 2021
She added, "He pulled up in front of the house and turned the trailer on so it dumped out all the pennies on the grass and my mom came out and was like, 'What are you dumping in my yard?' She didn't know who it was until he shouted, 'It's your final child support payment."
Avery was embarrassed. She could not believe her own father could something to upset her. "It's not just my mom he's trying to embarrass, it's also me and my sister and it's upsetting that he didn't consider that before he did that," said the teenager.
Soon after, the family arranged for the pennies to be picked up from their lawn. Instead of keeping the money, they decided to use the money to help people in need. As a result, the money was donated to Safe Harbor, a domestic abuse center. Having done the good deed, Avery is happy she could turn a situation that impacted her negatively into something positive.
What kind of Dad does this to his own daughter. I'm glad she gave it to charity. https://t.co/D8dRCxX3ns
— Raffy Hamid Journalist and Publicist (@Raffy1011) June 12, 2021
"Turning around and donating that money to moms and children in need, I feel like that really turns this situation into a positive. You can learn from it," said Avery. The teenager has had no relationship with her biological father for years. After the pennies incident, she is convinced about her stance with her father.
"It's really hurtful and damaging to your kids when you do things like that. It doesn't matter if they're young or an adult, the actions of your parents will always have some effect on you," said Avery.
However, the teenager's father defended his actions and said that his action was a burst out of his frustration built-in for over 18 years. He added that he did not intend to hurt his daughter and widen the already existing gap between them.
Meanwhile, Avery's mother reported the incident to Henrico Police.
References:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/daughter-donates-80000-child-maintenance-24300475
Cover Image Source (Representational): Getty Images | Photo by Chuck Cross / EyeEm
