Claire Reid
A fundraiser for the Burger King employee who was given a goodie bag after 27 years of service has hit $300,000 - you can see his reaction to the response he's had here:
Fifty-four-year-old Kevin Ford, who works at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, went viral after a clip showed him opening up a goodie bag given to him by HMS Host, the company from which Burger King hires staff.
In the bag were a selection of small gifts including a Starbucks reusable cup, some pens, a bag of Reese's and a movie ticket.
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Although Ford said he was ‘thankful’ for the gift, the clip soon went viral as people shocked that he was given such a paltry bag of goodies in return for years of service.
Shortly after the clip was first shared, Ford’s daughters set up a GoFundMe, which has been flooded with donations and now stands at a whopping $300,000.
Among those to donate were actor David Spade, who chipped in $5,000.
After his daughter notified him of the celebrity donation, Ford immediately checked his Instagram messages and learned that the comedian had slid into his DMs, congratulating him on all his hard work.
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Spade wrote: “Keep up the good work. 27 yrs” (sic), to which Ford responded: “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...”
Speaking on NBC’s Today show, Ford admitted that he hadn’t really thought about how he was going to spend the cash.
He said: “You never know, it’s day to day but I haven’t thought of anything to do with that money except to visit my grandkids for a while and maybe put some up for their college, but I’m not even thinking about that. I’m just working.”
Burger King told LADbible that it offers a 'robust employee recognition program'.
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A spokesperson 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.
"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."