As employees, we’ve all had a day here in there where we had to call in sick, right? Wrong.
Some people manage to go decades of working without ever calling in sick, and when they do, they deserve something special.
For the exemplary employee in this story, that special came in the form of some viral luck, and over 8,000 donations from people who wanted to help.
It started with a goody bag.
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David Spade and others donate over $250,000 to Burger King employee who never missed a day of work for 27 years
It all started when a video surfaced of 54-year-old, Kevin Ford, opening a thank you bag from his employer at Burger King for 27 years of work without ever missing a day.
He’s an employee at the Burger King in the Las Vegas Airport, and since 1995, he’s never missed a day, not even once.
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Inside the bag, Ford pulls out a movie ticket, some candy, a Starbucks cup, and some pens.
The longtime Burger King employee was filled with gratitude that he was recognized for the impressive milestone, but not everyone saw it that way.
The video was posted to Instagram
It spread like wildfire and, soon, Ford found himself on News broadcasts all around the country
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Although Ford is grateful for receiving a gift from his employer, the video went viral for how little he received for such a massive milestone.
His daughter thought so, too.
That’s when Ford’s daughter, Seryna, decided to make a GoFundMe for her hard-working father so that he could take a trip to visit his grandchildren.
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“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,” She wrote, she went on to say:
“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.
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“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 GoFundMe quickly surpassed Seryna’s goal.
It is still going up, and is sitting at almost $275,000
People from all around the world began blessing Ford with everything from $5 to $5,200, including $5,000 from A-list actor/comedian, David Spade.
Through it all, Ford has remained humble and is filled with gratitude for all the people who donated, and his employer who many were critical of.
In an interview with Today, Ford said:
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“I’ve been crying for about two days now. It’s just incredible,” he went on to say: “I just go to work and try to have fun and laugh and make other people’s day good. It’s like I’ve been in a dream for almost two days now. It’s just so beautiful and awesome. It really is.”
See his heartwarming story in the video below!
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