A Secret Santa had the East Idaho News team bring early Christmas presents to a young man named Kohner, who is hard of hearing and has had a tough time since the inception of the pandemic.
Kohner uses a cochlear implant to supplement his hearing, according to East Idaho News. Since the pandemic began in March of 2020, the use of face masks has been challenging for Kohner as he relies heavily on lip-reading.
Kohner worked as a bank teller when coronavirus hit and felt isolated, so he took another job, according to East Idaho News. The Secret Santa, who is giving away $1 million in gifts to deserving east Idaho residents this holiday season, sent Nate Eaton and the news team to bring some Christmas cheer Kohner’s way.
The news team visited Kohner at an Albertson’s grocery store in Idaho Falls, where he worked from 2009-2019. He had been invited to the store for lunch with his old coworkers, but the news team was there to surprise him.
“You have some really cool coworkers, and we wanted to bring you these gifts from the Secret Santa,” Nate told Kohner.
“Awesome, I’m all for that. Let’s do it,” said Kohner with a smile.
The first gift was a $500 gift card to Jiffy Lube. The Secret Santa had heard from one of Kohner’s friends that he was unsure if he could afford a necessary oil change and service.
“It’s a gift card for jiffy lube. I appreciate that,” Kohner said.
“I imagine it will last me a few years for sure. I appreciate this very much, thank you,” he added.
The second gift was $1,500 in gift cards to Albertson’s, and Kohner instantly came up with an idea.
“That will get me a Christmas dinner for my family, that’s for sure. A big one,” he said. “I can invite all of the close relatives and even some awesome coworkers too.”
“I worked here for ten years since I was 16, and I started here in 2009, ended here in 2019,” Kohner added. “And I was just trying to find a better opportunity, and that really hasn’t come up, and it’s been – times have been really hard. I appreciate all of this I really do. This is awesome.”
Kohner then opened his final gift: a $3,000 check from the Secret Santa.
“That’s from an anonymous Secret Santa, who wanted to let you know that he cares about you, and he’s thinking about you, he loves you, and he hopes you have a great holiday,” Nate told Kohner.
“I pass on the same to him,” Kohner replied. “Whoever this was, he has my thanks; he has my family’s thanks. This is all very much appreciated. Thank you so much.”
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