Huntingdon native gives back to hometown by helping holiday shoppers
HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — The holiday season can be a hard time for some, but Huntingdon native Nathan Burns wants to make it easier.
“Money is not that important to me. It’s helping others,” Burns said. “I’ve been there. I know what it’s like. I have twin little boys. When they were little, that was tough for me, so maybe we can save a couple people from feeling that way.”
Burns owns a small business in Murfreesboro and wanted to pay it forward during the holidays in the town where he grew up.
“Where we live, unemployment is only like three percent. It’s low. Jobs are coming in, so I just feel like Huntingdon is a little bit better spot,” Burns said.
On Tuesday, Burns came home, $2,500 in hand, to pay off layaway items and hand out gift cards in his hometown Walmart. And after paying off some layaway items, Burns took it a step further. He passed out $50 gift cards to anyone he ran into in the store. Many were surprised by his kind gesture.
“Who is he?” shopper Charity Decher said. “I want to say thank you. He was so quick!”
His actions made an impact on one mother and son.
“I had just prayed and said, ‘Lord, how are we going to get this layaway,’ in which the layaway wasn’t for me. It’s for my daughter that’s been taking care of our household while he was in the hospital,” said shopper Regina Bigham of Huntingdon, who works as a caregiver.
Her son Reggie Bigham has had at least 12 surgeries since he was a baby, and has been waiting for a heart transplant since July.
“It’s crazy how you ask for something and in return he makes it more bigger,” Reggie Bigham said.
Reggie attends Bethel University and majors in business with hopes of being an entrepreneur like Burns.
“You never know when the Lord’s going to bless you with a stranger, so Mr. Burns was a blessing today,” Regina Bigham said.
This is the second time this year Burns has done something similar to help his hometown. Earlier in the year, he also bought groceries for people at Walmart.
