Kevin Ford has never missed a shift in his 27 years atBurger King.
“I’ve worked here 27 years, never missed not one day of work, never even called out,” an enthusiastic Ford explains before opening a plastic drawstring backpack containing a movie ticket, a Starbucks cup, a bag of Reese’s Pieces, two packs of Life Savers, two pens, a lanyard and two keychains.
Kevin Ford/TikTok
He wraps up the video, saying, “This is my reward for working 27 years. Thank you guys,” while holding two thumbs up.
Kevin Ford, a Burger King employee who never missed a day of work in 27 years.Kevin Ford
Kevin Ford
On June 21, 2022, Seryna launchedher father’s GoFundMe. “He originally began working at this job as a single father when he gained custody of me and my older sister 27 years ago,” the Texas resident wrote on the platform. “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 closed out the donation page’s description saying that the family is not expecting any money, but is open for anybody who “feels like blessing him,” adding that “he would love to visit his grandchildren.”
The numbers immediately began to roll in, as Seryna had to repeatedly update the goal. Within the first two days of the fundraiser, she updated the GoFundMe page eight times, sometimes to raise the goal and other times simply to thank everybody for the outpouring of support. By the end of the first few days, Seryna had moved the goal from $2,700 to $27,000 to $100,000.
Kevin Ford with his two granddaughters.Kevin Ford
“It was very surreal. It felt like a dream,” Seryna tells PEOPLE. “I was just like, this wasn’t really happening because stuff like that doesn’t happen and it definitely doesn’t happen to people like us.”
“I think people wanted to be a part of something beautiful for once and this is beautiful. It’s a miracle,” Kevin tells PEOPLE as to why he thinks his story was so pertinent.
Seryna says she “think[s] it was that everyone else saw their dad or their husband or themselves or their mom – the person that provides – and they saw themselves in him.”
In the year since the fundraiser began, Kevin and Seryna have raised over $420,000 from over 14,000 donors, including actorDavid Spade.
The funds raised are used as a contribution toward the Burger King worker’s retirement, as Seryna explained on GoFundMe. “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.”
Kevin Ford’s three grandchildren.Kevin Ford
Kevin tells PEOPLE life is still going along as normal. “I still work at the same place, C Gate’s Burger King. I still drive Uber and DoorDash on the weekends,” he explains.
Kevin says the biggest difference is now, he gets to interact with some famous people every now and again. “I just told David Spade Happy Birthday and he sent back, ‘thanks bud,’ you know, so I wouldn’t normally do that.”
Kevin reunited with Seryna and her childrenon theTodayshowjust one week after the start of the fundraiser, and now, with Kevin’s birthday approaching, on Aug. 22, the family is getting together once again.
“For my birthday, I flew out here and we’re surprising them when they get out of school because their granddad’s in town. So, I get to see them today.”
source: people.com
