A Burger King employee who hasn’t missed a shift in 27 years has been rewarded for his hard work, as he’s received nearly $275,000 in donations from a GoFundMe campaign.
Earlier this month Kevin Ford, who works as a cook and cashier at Burger King in the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, went viral after posting a video of himself opening a mediocre gift bag he received from the company to mark his nearly 30 years on the job.
On June 20, Kevin’s daughter Seryna Ford created a GoFundMe to honor her father’s dedication to his job. The goal was to fund a $200 trip for Ford to see his grandchildren. Kevin was surprised by an emotional reunion with Seryna and his grandchildren on the Today show, above, this week.
“The man in that video is my father,” Seryna wrote in the fundraiser’s description. “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 continued to work there because of the amazing health insurance that was provided through this employer because it was unionized. This got all four of his daughters through high school and college with full healthcare coverage.”
She continued, “My dad continues to work there, 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.”
As of Thursday afternoon, more than 8,700 people have made donations amounting to $274,447. Ford, who told TMZ he plans to use the money to visit his family in Texas and buy a new car, received the ultimate surprise when David Spade gifted the Burger King veteran $5,000.
“Keep up the good work,” Spade wrote under his donation, the campaign’s second-largest.
Ford replied, “I love you my brother! Much love and God bless…I think I might be able to take a day off.”
