Generous mom tried to give out $1,000 in gift cards to Missouri Walmart shoppers -- until the store kicked her out

A mother in Missouri says her family bought $1,000 worth of gift cards to hand out outside a nearby Walmart in the city of Bridgeton -- but upon arriving, they were told by Walmart employees to leave.

Local news station KSDK reports that Julia Twichell and her husband wanted to have their two daughters hand out gift cards at the Walmart to teach them lessons about the importance of giving during the holiday season.

"We just want to help people who could really use it," Twichell explained to KSDK.

The Twichells say they had finished handing out roughly 50 gift cards when they were told both by security officers and another Walmart employee that they would have to find another location to hand out cards for the benefit of their own customers.

Walmart, however, denies the family's account and says the entire kerfuffle was all the result of a misunderstanding.

"A spokesperson for Walmart said a family member did ask an employee if they could pass out the gift cards and they were told no," reports KSDK. "The spokesperson said the family wasn't told they had to leave. As it turns out, Walmart said an assistant manager at the store was unsure of the store policy. Walmart doesn't have an issue with a family passing out Walmart gift cards."