Her Father Dumped 80,000 Pennies Of ‘Child Support’ On Her Lawn, But She Got The Better End Of The Deal
Talk about a penny for your thoughts.
In the case of a Virginia mother and her two daughters anticipating child support payments, it’s more like a penny is worth a thousand words. Avery Sanford and her mother received a final child support payment from her father that amounted to 800 dollars in the form of pennies and a clear message of spite. Fortunately, the mother and daughter took the sour note and turned it into one of love and progress.
Avery Sanford, 18, received her father’s final child support payment in the amount of 80,000 pennies dumped fully on her front lawn.
Speaking to WTVR the teen revealed that after just turning 18, she learned while she was “in the middle of class, my dad came by. He had rented a trailer… 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.”
Sanford, who’d not spoken to her father in years, explained that the spiteful gesture left a negative impact, which she and her mother were determined to turn around.
“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,” Sanford explained in her interview with WTVR. After collecting the pennies from the lawn, Sanford and her mother took the pennies to a coin counting service and then donated the money to Safe Harbor. The organization is a center for people suffering from domestic abuse.
“Turning around and donating that money to moms and children in need, I feel like that really turns this situation into a positive,” Sanford went onto explain. “You can learn from it.”
In addition to the donation, Sanford’s mother reported the disturbance to Henrico County police.
Speaking about his behavior, Sanford’s father told WTVR that he decided to dump the pennies after experiencing years of “built-up frustration,” he also admitted that in this case, “emotions overcame his judgment.” He also explained that he never considered his actions would have consequences when it came to his daughter.
Still, Sanford says the damage has been done, and her father’s actions have been costly.
“It’s really hurtful and damaging to your kids when you do things like that,” she explained to WTVR. “It doesn’t matter if they’re young or an adult, the actions of your parents will always have some effect on you.”