Burger King employee Kevin Ford celebrated 27 years of perfect attendance earlier this year. A video of Ford celebrating his milestone went viral. Unfortunately, it didn’t gain views for an elaborate setup thanking him for his dedication, but instead for a lack thereof. The 54-year-old is a longtime Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport Burger King staff member, according to Today.
The video featured Ford receiving a bag filled with a movie ticket, candy, a Starbucks cup, a lanyard, two pens and keychains for his service, according to Upworthy. Although he seemed grateful, the millions of people who saw the video thought the gesture didn’t measure up.
Ford’s humble attitude gained national attention. Shortly after, he received a more appropriate gift for his loyalty. His daughter, Seryna Ford, started a GoFundMe campaign detailing that Ford was more than just a great employee. The amount quickly rose to $200,000, and as the story of the gracious employee spread, the campaign reached almost $400,000!
On the fundraising page, Ford’s daughter proudly gave some background on her father and wrote that he “began working at this job as a single father when he gained custody of me and my older sister 27 years ago.”
She added that her father stayed at Burger King because it provided “amazing health insurance.” The benefits allowed him to get his four daughters through high school and college.
Toward the end of her statement, Seryna said donations to her father were welcome but not necessarily needed.
She mentioned her father was close to retirement and would love to see his grandchildren if folks donated any money.
Ford’s prayers were answered in surplus. He was a guest on Today, where he reunited with his daughter and three grandchildren.
He hadn’t seen them in several years and was overwhelmed by the kindness and support he was receiving.
“My dad deserves the world. He gave me the world,” Ford’s daughter said during the touching segment. “My dad made me the person I am today.”
At that time, Ford stated he was using the money as a college fund for his grandchildren.
He made another appearance on Today as one of the show’s “Can’t Miss People of 2022.”
With the GoFundMe donations at nearly $400,000, Ford said that his primary mission with the money is to pay it forward.
“When I’m in a store now and there’s people, especially single mothers or something, I tell them to ring up everybody. I pay for everybody’s food,” he said, according to Today. “Every day that I wake up, I’m excited … about spreading the love and showing people that that human spirit is still alive and well, and that I’m proof of it.”
Ford has been able to spend time with his grandchildren and take them on dream vacations. He’s even been able to visit his bucket-list destination of Mount Everest.
In preparation for retirement, Ford is still a loyal employee at Burger King and still hasn’t missed a shift.
