A discovery in the Target baby aisle reminded one woman how much mothers sacrifice. She paid it forward, and others followed suit with “she deserved the purse.”

Gift cards are a convenient thing to give for birthdays and holidays. They are also easy to forget about. Many people have hundreds of dollars worth of unused cards, vouchers or store credit — and, according to a new survey,

Americans are sitting on an estimated $27 billion in unused gift cards, with the average person holding $244 in unspent balances.