The story of a Burger King employee who was given a disappointing goody bag after 27 years of perfect service has touched hearts.
People were so moved by the fast-food worker that they have now donated over $80,000 to a GoFundMe set up in his honor. (As of this writing, the total stands at $84,876.)
It all started when 54-year-old Kevin Ford - a cook and cashier at the Burger King in a Las Vegas airport - received a goody bag for what he claims to be for working 27 years without missing a shift.
However, when he opened up the bag, Ford was disappointed to find that it contained what looked like things "they had lying around." This included a bag of Reese's, a Starbucks reusable cup, two pens, and one movie ticket.
Ford shared a video of the moment on social media which quickly went viral. In an interview with TMZ, he explained that - even though the gift wasn't what he was expecting - he's still grateful for the gesture.
"I'm happy about anything, I'm thankful for anything I get, I'm not that type of person, believe me. I've been through a lot," he said, adding: "It's a great company, you know, I've been there 27 years."
Check out the moment below:"But, like most big corporations, they've kind of lost touch with their workers, and through Covid and whatever, they started cutting out programs," he continued.
After his video went viral online, Ford's daughter, Seryna, set up a GoFundMe page on his behalf. In the fundraiser's description, she explained that he had started working the job when he was a single father to her and her sister.
"My dad continues to work here, because though he does look young, he is coming up on retirement age and leaving would cost him his retirement," she wrote, adding: "In no way are we asking for money or is he expecting any money but if anyone feels like blessing him he would love to visit his grandchildren."
Since it was launched earlier this week, the fundraiser has been an enormous success - raising a whopping $84,000 - smashing the original $40,ooo target and Seryna's increased $50,000 target!
"Y’all shattered the original goal so I increased it! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much," Seryna wrote.
The fundraiser even attracted some celebrity attention from actor and comedian David Spade, who gave $5,000 to the cause.
A spokesperson for Burger King has since responded to the success of Ford's video, explaining: "This video depicts a Team Member in receipt of a peer-to-peer reward in recognition of a short-term positive performance/experience."
"The franchisee offers its Team Members a robust employee recognition program, which includes the recognition of tenure milestones and monetary awards," they added per TMZ.
