When an estranged father had to pay the final child support to his daughter, he decided to be anything but gracious. He chose to pay the $800 he owed as pennies that he dumped on the front yard of her Virginia home where she lives with her mom. There were a total of 80,000 pennies that he emptied into the yard using a rented trailer.
Now, the 18-year-old Avery Sanford is trying to turn the situation around from a clearly negative experience to one that will have a positive impact by donating money to those in need.
“I just turned 18. When I was in the middle of class, my dad came by. He had rented a trailer,” Sanford told WTVR. “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 told the station that she was upset that her father didn’t think about how his actions would make her, her sister, or her mother feel.
“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 said.
The stunt, which was caught on security footage, was so bizarre that even Avery’s mom didn’t register what was happening at first.
“She didn’t know who it was until he shouted, ‘It’s your final child support payment,” Avery told WTVR.
Once it became clear what the whole thing was about, Avery’s mom was understandably livid. But so was her teenage daughter — as well as the couple’s other daughter — who found the dad’s antic mortifying, immature, and deeply hurtful.
After he left, Avery headed outside and used a snow shovel to pick up the pennies. Once all the coins had been collected, Avery said that her family decided they would donate the money to help those in need.
This dad thought that dumping pennies on mom’s lawn would be a statement, but it was actually something very childish and immature. He got himself into more trouble because of this action!
While this dad thought that dumping pennies would be a statement, mom’s court order is still in place until the debt has been paid off. This means that there is no change in child support even though he did something so childish and immature. The dad in question has not been publicly named, but his teenage daughter is more than happy to speak up about her dad’s childish behavior.
Avery said that they will be giving the money to Safe Harbor, a domestic abuse center.
“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,” Avery said.
Watch the video below:
Thomas Cooper