Kevin Ford: Burger King worker CAN'T STOP CRYING as $150K donated after viral video
A Burger King worker, who went viral over an "insignificant" goodie bag given to him by his employer for 27 years of service, has expressed gratitude to the people who donated to a GoFundMe started by his daughter. Kevin Ford recently went viral after he made a video taking a subtle dig at his employer over the goodie bag. The rewards reportedly were a movie ticket, some keychains, a bag of Reese’s, two packs of Lifesavers, a Starbucks cup, a lanyard, and two writing pens. His daughter then launched the fundraising page to help her father and several people, including David Spade, generously donated to it.
The total amount has now reached $156,945, leaving Ford emotional. The cook and cashier, who works for the fast-food company’s Las Vegas McCarran International Airport outlet, told NewsNation: “I've been crying for three days now. The generosity of these people is just overwhelming.”
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David Spade donates $5k to Burger King employee who received just a goodie bag for 27-year service
Spade too made a contribution to the GoFundMe, which says, “Hi, My name is Seryna. The man in that video is my father. He has worked at his job for 27 years and yes, he has never missed a day of work. He originally began working at this job as a single father when he gained custody of me and my older sister 27 years ago. Then as our family grew and he remarried, he continue to work here because of the amazing health insurance.”
“That was provided through this employer because it was unionized. Which got all four of his daughters through high school and college with full healthcare coverage. 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. 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,” the message read.
The 57-year-old stand-up comedian had contributed $5,000 and also DMed Ford on his Instagram account. The employee replied back to him saying, “Holy s**t dude!!! Cannot Believe This!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH For even Watching the Video! I Love You My Brother!!! Much Love and God Bless... I think might be able to take a Day Off…” Ford also told TMZ that he's "a huge fan of David's, so to get a donation plus some fun back and forth with Spade is surreal."
Meanwhile, Burger King issued a statement to LADbible after Ford’s video went viral. The statement said, “The Burger King brand and its many franchisees nationwide are committed to recognising and celebrating the achievements of the thousands of people serving across a wide range of roles — all dedicated to providing our guests a world-class experience.”
It added: “Following review with this location’s franchisee, we’ve learned that 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.”