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When mom of five Starlie Becote (pictured with her children) was interviewed by USA Today back in December about how she lacked the funds to buy her children Christmas gifts, an anonymous donor came to the rescue in a major way.

The Rhode Island single mother, who only makes $13.65 an hours as a case manager for a community mental health facility, was deep in debt. Becote owed $35,000 in student loans and just could not afford to pay the whopping $400 a month loan payment with incurring $6-per-day interest, in addition to her other monthly expenses.

As a matter of fact, when Becote was on her way to the USA Today interview, she ran out of gas and had to borrow money in order to fill her tank.

Last month, a businessman who had read the USA feature on Becote was so touched by her story that he decided to not only pay off her student loans; he wired her an additional $5,000 to help with her financial difficulties. The man asked that his name not be released, as he wanted to remain anonymous.

Paying off the loans turned into somewhat of a nightmare in that the U.S. Department of Education does not accept foreign currency. The donor’s first check was drawn from a Canadian bank, so it was returned to him. The man then sent a money order, which was also sent back to him because the monies were connected to, again, a Canadian bank. The third time was a charm because the man sent the money to a relative living in the U.S. The relative was then able to write a check and paid off Becote’s student loans.

Becote, who had hoped to put away the extra $5,000 for a rainy day, had to use much of the funds sooner than expected when her 2-year-old son contracted pneumonia and the potentially deadly staph bacteria, MRSA.

The child remained in intensive care for two months and has recovered.

Becote would have had to default on the loan if she could not pay it.  The loan’s nonpayment would have put the kibosh on her chances of ever enrolling in grad school.  Since Becote wants to become a licensed social worker, grad school is mandatory and thanks to the generous stranger with the huge heart, she is on her way to realizing her dream.