A Burger King employee who hasn’t missed a day of work in 27 years has received more than $400,000 in crowdsourced donations to make up for his employer’s stingy tribute to his devotion.
Kevin Ford, a cook and cashier at the Burger King in the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, went viral last June when he posted a video to TikTok sharing that he has not called out of work in nearly three decades.
Since last June, with the help of over 13,500 donations, the father of four has raked in $402,560, including $5,000 from “Saturday Night Live” alum David Spade.
In his clip, which has garnered nearly 65,000 views, the 55-year-old grandfather shows off the gifts he received from the chain’s hiring company, HMSHost, in honor of the feat.
However, the goodie bag contained a smattering of cheap gifts in a plastic drawstring backpack that included a movie ticket, a Starbucks cup, a bag of Reese’s candy, two packets of Life Savers, a piece of chocolate cake, two pens and two keychains.
Despite the lackluster array of rewards, Ford appeared very positive and grateful in the video.
The social media response to his bubbly disposition led one of his daughters, Seryna, to create a GoFundMe pager, asking people to donate if they “feel like blessing him.”
Seryna noted that Ford would use the funds to “visit his grandchildren” and help subsidize his retirement.
The single dad began working at the fast-food joint in 1996 after gaining custody of his first two daughters and has stayed there because of the healthcare insurance, which covered his four daughters through high school and college, Seryna said.
“My dad continues to work there, because though he does look young, he is coming up on retirement age and leaving would cost him his retirement,” Seryna wrote in the GoFundMe description.
Some contributions were made as early as this week, with many donors giftng $27 in nod to Ford’s work anniversary.
“Donated $27. For every year you went to work without missing 1 day. This story brought me to tears,” one donor by the name of Alex commented on the GoFundMe page.
In April, Ford posted an update that he was able to visit his grandchildren in Texas because of the donations, which he said “changed my life forever.”
“The miracle of generosity of so many people all around the world has allowed me to save for retirement and my children’s and grandchildren’s futures and even to someday soon own my own home dreams really can come true,” he added.
Representatives for Burger King and its hiring company, HMSHost, did not immediately respond to noti.group’s request for comment.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
