Every now and again a story comes along that shows how much goodness there truly is in the world.
On Monday, subreddit r/ABoringDystopia posted a video of a Burger King employee named Kevin Ford, 54, who received a gift from upper management in honor of his 27 years on the job. In the video, which was originally posted on TikTok, Ford delves into the items he received from HMS Host, the company from which Burger King hires, which included a Starbucks reusable tumbler, a bag of Reese’s candy, pens and two rolls of Lifesavers, amongst other items. Additionally, managers at the Las Vegas Burger King where Ford works gave him a slice of chocolate cake to celebrate the milestone. While Ford remained appreciative in the video, expressing his gratitude, the response online was a touch more critical.
“Did they really only give him ONE movie ticket tho??” wrote one TikTok user.
“And he’s so humble and kind about it. This pisses me off so much. He deserves so much more,” another person commented on Reddit.
Many of the other responses from commenters pointed out that Ford’s gift reality didn’t quite match up with expectations, which may be why Ford’s daughter decided to step in to honor her fathers dedication in his food service job.
“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,” Seryna Ford wrote in a GoFundMe she set up for her father. “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.”
People around the internet heard her and were moved by Ford’s story and the response to her unassuming request exceeded anything the Ford family could have dreamed of, having its goal shattered twice — and it’s still climbing. In three days, the GoFundMe has already received over $50,000 as of this writing.
“I’ve been crying for about two days now. It’s just incredible,” said Kevin Ford in a phone call with TODAY Food. “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.”
With more than 1,600 donations, Ford also feels the love from each and every donor that decided to celebrate his 27 years without missing a day of work. “For all those years, you feel unappreciated, but you get up just like everybody else. You do your job, and for somebody to show this appreciation is just overwhelming,” he said.
One of those donors, someone who donated under the name “David Spade,” gave a whopping $5,000 to the GoFundMe, becoming its top donor. Ford said he contacted the actor and comedian via Instagram to give his thanks and received a classic comedic response.
“I said, ‘Hey, maybe now I could take a day off’ and he sent back ‘Wait till you’re 30,’” Ford said. TODAY reached out to Spade’s team to confirm the donation but hasn’t heard back yet.
A Burger King spokesperson issued the following statement to TODAY:
“The Burger King brand and its many franchisees nationwide are committed to recognizing and celebrating the achievements of the thousands of people serving across a wide range of roles. 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.”
Burger King also added that it offers team members an employee recognition program, which includes the recognition of tenure milestones and monetary awards. For its part, HMS Host, the food service company Ford works for Burger King through, is actually the party who gave him the viral gift. TODAY reached out to HMS Host for comment but hasn’t heard back.
As to what Ford plans to do with the money, he said he hasn’t thought too deeply about it yet, but he’s eager to pay off bills and visit his daughter Seryna and his grandchildren, two girls who are six and eight. Throughout this once-in-a-lifetime experience, Ford said he’s thankful for this community of people who thought to offer him a little love through their comments and the donation drive. Ford also expressed his deep appreciation for his daughter, who got the ball rolling on this outpouring of support.
“I can’t repay her, you know? Because she is why I do everything — her and my other daughters and now my grandkids,” Ford said. “I really can’t put into words how much I love my family.”
