Atlantic Superstore staff in Antigonish, N.S., have decided to use an anonymous gift that was dropped off by a customer on Monday to buy groceries for four seniors who live in the area.

A man dropped off 10 sealed envelopes covered with messages like "Thank you for working," "Thank you for all you're doing during COVID-19" and "Thank you from the community." Each envelope contained $40 and the man wanted the envelopes to be distributed to the store's staff.

"I was flabbergasted that somebody actually did this," said Patti Hilton, the store's manager.

During the Monday morning huddle, staff decided to use the $400 to buy groceries for four seniors.

These are the thank you cards that each contained $40. (Mark Boudreau)

"Here's the thing, we are still working. We still get a paycheque every week and there are so many people out of work and so many seniors that need help right now that we decided to pay it forward," Hilton said.

"The colleagues were ecstatic, clapping. They really came up with this idea."

As of Tuesday, the shopping for the seniors had yet to be done. Hilton said staff will be making the deliveries personally, which should lift the spirits of the recipients.

Patti Hilton is the manager of Atlantic Superstore in Antigonish. (Patti Hilton)

"Everything you hear right now is bad. You go home, you turn on the TV and you wonder how many [COVID-19] cases there are today," Hilton said.

"So it's nice to have, especially at this time, to have something like this go through the store. Just a happy good feeling for everybody."

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