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Featured Image Credit: @therealvaakan3/twitter
Topics: Food And Drink, TikTok, Viral, Money
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Emily Brown
Topics: Food And Drink, TikTok, Viral, Money
A GoFundMe page created for a long-serving Burger King employee has reached an incredible $100,000 (£81,500).
Seryna Ford set up the fundraising page for her father, 54-year-old Kevin Ford, after footage emerged online of him unpacking the goodie bag he had been given to mark 27 years of service for Burger King.
The bag contained a Starbucks cup, some Reese's chocolate and pens, among a few other things, and though Kevin appeared grateful in the clip many internet users argued he deserved so much more for his hard work.
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Seryna initially set up the GoFundMe saying her dad was not 'expecting any money', but as more and more people across the globe became aware of his story the donations just kept on coming.
The creator first changed the goal to '$2,700 (£2,200) for 27 years' before moving it to $27,000 (£22,000) as earlier goals were quickly passed. Within three days of the GoFundMe page being created it had reached more than $50,000 (£40,000), so on Saturday (25 June) Seryna moved the goal to $100,000.
Once again, the goal has been met.
Donors have described Kevin as an 'amazing father and human being', an 'inspiration' and a 'wonderful example of hard work and dedication', with people offering amounts from a few dollars to hundreds or even thousands.
One donor was actor David Spade, who gave $5,000 to the GoFundMe and is said to have later joked with Kevin in an Instagram message about taking a day off.
On the GoFundMe page, Seryna said Kevin has 'never missed a day of work' since he first took the job as a single father, when he gained custody of Seryna and her sister.
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"[A]s 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," she wrote.
In an interview with TODAY after the donations started to roll in, Kevin said the generosity of the public had made him cry, adding: "It’s just incredible. 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.”
The gift bag Kevin received for his 27 years of service came from HMS Host, the food service company through which he works for Burger King.