A Christmas miracle came a little early to at-risk children in Amarillo, Texas.

A donor who wishes to remain anonymous gave a $50,000 check to the Children's Home, which has been housing orphans and children who can no longer live at home for various reasons, for 91 years.

But the donor didn't walk into the home's lobby to hand over the much-needed loot - he slipped it under the baby Jesus in the manger in the home's Nativity scene, set up for the holidays on the front lawn.

Scroll down for video

The Nativity scene (above) is set up outside of the Children's Home in Amarillo on the front lawn

The anonymous donor left the hefty check underneath the ceramic figure of the baby Jesus (above)

The generous donor then called the home's front desk and told the receptionist to go outside and take a peek under the baby Jesus.

'She was very confused,' Darrin Murphy, president of Children's Home, told ABC7 News.

But the receptionist went outside to look inside the manger. There, she was shocked to find a check for $50,000.

'As you can imagine, we were just taken aback,' said Murphy.

The president of the home for at-risk youth (above) said that the gift goes beyond monetary value - it shows the kids that people believe in them and their future

Murphy said the unexpected holiday windfall was a true blessing, especially since 75 percent of its funding comes from 'pan handle' donations - such as this one but in much smaller quantities.

Murphy said the donor does not wish to be named, however, whoever he is gets to see the children on a regular basis, and they are the ones who galvanized his largesse.

'He said that one of the reasons he did it was that he gets to see our kids and he watches their interaction, how they treat each other and how they treat their house parents. And he was inspired by them,' said Murphy.

He also said that, while the money is sorely needed, the gift goes way beyond money.

'I told [the kids] that people are noticing you, people believe that you have what it takes and people believe in your future,' said Murphy. 'It was huge for them and they were very excited about that.'