Man buys entire Kmart store then donates it all to charity

Christmas has come early for the needy in northern Kentucky, with a local businessman buying all the remaining merchandise of a shuttering Kmart and donating it to charity., Rankin Paynter, 77, who owns a jewellery-exchange business in Winchester, purchased goods with a retail value of $200,000. “I went to Kmart to buy a safe, and when I was there I noticed they had a lot of clothing and stuff left, so I asked what would happen to it when the store closed,” Paynter said.



“They said I could come back on Sunday night at 6 p.m. when the store closed, but I had to buy it all. So I did.” Paynter would not reveal exactly how much he spent, saying only, “It cost me a lot of money.” It took six hours to load the merchandise onto a truck, and a whole day to unload it. The majority of the merchandise is winter clothes, which has been donated to Clark County Community Services. “There are a lot of needy families in this area,” Paynter said.

“A lot of people come in to sell me their last piece of jewellery because they need to buy food for their babies,” he said. Paynter said he experienced poverty as a child and knows its pain. “I didn’t have the right winter clothes growing up, so once I got on my feet and got out of the gutter that I was in, I decided I would always give to charity,” he said. “It will do good, and it shows people that they should help the needy. I feel really good about it.” Judy Crowe from Clark County Community Services said the gift was the largest donation of merchandise they’ve ever received.


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“We’re a low economic area and we serve so many families,” Crowe said. “We get a lot of used clothing, but not new clothing and it’s something we would never have been able to go out and buy, so it’s a real treat. It’s always a blessing to get a donation that large. He’s been very generous; he knows what it’s like to need those things.” Paynter said he has already received several phone calls from families thanking him for his donation. “I know they appreciate it. It’s a good feeling,” he said.