A Virginia man took it upon himself to lash out at his ex-wife and child by dumping 80,000 pennies, or $800, of his child support payment directly onto the family's lawn.
But though the action was intended to cause harm to his ex-wife and daughter, the teenage girl instead put the obscene amount of change to positive use due to creative thinking.
You can see news coverage here:
Avery Sanford, the daughter of the man, said her father rented a trailer to dump the pennies on her mother's lawn in a symbolic "F**k you" gesture over his final child support payment.
"It is really hurtful and damaging to your kids when you do things like that," Sanford told CBS 6.
"And it doesn't matter how old your kids—it doesn't matter if they're a young child or an adult. The actions of your parents will always have some effect on you."
When 18 y.o. Avery Sanford in Virginia got home from school, she couldn\u2019t believe what she saw. \n\nHer father had dropped 80,000 pennies on her mother\u2019s lawn.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s not just my mom he\u2019s trying to embarrass, it\u2019s also me and my sister. It\u2019s upsetting that he didn\u2019t consider that.\u201dpic.twitter.com/bYrqP96h2j— chris evans (@chris evans) 1623415303
Wow. Way to show your kids you resent supporting them so much you'll plan out this stunt just to inconvenience and humiliate their mother.— CLL (@CLL) 1623415895
For the rest of her adult life, this kid will never have to wonder if her mom ever painted her father unfairly. \n\nShe will know he was a dick.— Random Individual (@Random Individual) 1623415659
Man is driving a Range Rover & is that pressed about paying for his children\u2019s care & comfort.— Mia \ud83d\udcaf\ud83d\ude4e\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2640\ufe0f (@Mia \ud83d\udcaf\ud83d\ude4e\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2640\ufe0f) 1623415443
I'm assuming he also had to rent this trailer to pull this little stunt. \n\nSome people are just determined to prove they are garbage.— ND Kirsch \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@ND Kirsch \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1623415929
But instead of let the gesture become one of burden, Sanford immediately got to work.
Sanford donated the entire sum of money immediately to a domestic violence shelter.
Safe Harbor in Richmond received $850 from Sanford and her mom, but once word spread of Sanford's gesture around the community, the shelter raised around $5,000.
Makes you wonder how long he had been amassing pennies for this prank. A dude like this should have just had his last payment garnished from his check like all the others (should have been).— Templeton ze Rat (@Templeton ze Rat) 1623423050
My dad took a pic of the last check and put it on the fridge. He was very proud. I cried.— Rita Powell\ud83d\udc1d\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc9c (@Rita Powell\ud83d\udc1d\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc9c) 1623418301
Poor girl doesn't realize that he DID consider it: he just didn't care.— E Doherty (@E Doherty) 1623416861
He will probably wonder later why his kids won\u2019t talk to him or allow him into their lives. Then he will claim his wife alienated his kids from him. \n\nI know the type.— Suburban Harridan \ud83e\udd53\ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc1d (@Suburban Harridan \ud83e\udd53\ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc1d) 1623417501
This is the kind of man who will bend your ear about how misandrist the Family Court system is, when the truth is he didn't fight for custody, he doesn't want to meet his financial obligations to his children & he wants that money to attract a young, inexperienced partner.— Godless Wench (@Godless Wench) 1623423724
Safe Harbor said they are immensely thankful for the donations.
"During the pandemic, incidents of domestic violence incidents have increased, people who have been abused, especially since the beginning, were trapped in their homes with their abusers and couldn't leave," said Cathy Easter, executive director of Safe Harbor in Richmond, VA.
"Since restrictions started lifting, it's like a tsunami wave of people reaching out for help at a time when federal funding has been cut, so this gift for us has been amazing."
In a just universe, he will arrive in Hell to find his cell full of molten pennies. Still scalding hot.— Paula, 4Ever Team Pete \ud83d\udc1d \ud83c\udf77 (@Paula, 4Ever Team Pete \ud83d\udc1d \ud83c\udf77) 1623425103
The time and energy this guy took to spitefully and literally destroy his relationship with his kids.pic.twitter.com/GPScN3fGIZ— happyintrovert (@happyintrovert) 1623418750
I don't understand how men like this have children in the world that they contributed to creating ... and act like this.— Bizarro Tom Hardy (@Bizarro Tom Hardy) 1623430257
They think the public will blame their exes and think they must have deserved that. \nAlso Fing 800$ a month for TWO KIDS or less than 10k a year, and you know that's less than a tenth of his salary.— Elnigma (@Elnigma) 1623420351
In 1979, high school friend received a $5 McDonalds gift certificate in a card that said \u201cHappy graduation. Now get out.\u201d from her step-dad. Yeah, being a dick is an old play. I hope this man has a long, miserable life.— Beth C. (@Beth C.) 1623422993
Easter also said she admired Sanford's ability to rise above a demeaning and hostile experience in order to be generous outside of her station.
Sanford said that she hadn't spoken to her father in years, and that this incident only deepened the divide. The family has filed a police report against him, but as of yet, no charges have been filed.
