David Spade donated $5000 to a Burger King employee who received a goodie bag for 27 years of loyalty

Actor David Spade stepped up to donate thousands of dollars to a Burger King employee who received only a lackluster goodie bag after 27 years of dedicated service. In 2022, Kevin Ford shared a video showcasing the bag of “thank you” items sent by his company, HMS Host, which staffs Burger King locations. Inside the bag were a few small items: a bag of Reese's, a Starbucks cup, two pens, and one movie ticket, reported TMZ. Ford, a longtime cashier and cook at the Las Vegas airport Burger King, said it felt like the company had “just thrown in stuff lying around.” For Ford, the token of appreciation felt especially disappointing after nearly three decades of commitment.

Despite the disappointment, Ford remained gracious. "I'm happy about anything, I'm thankful for anything I get, I'm not that type of person, believe me. I've been through a lot. It's a great company, you know, I've been there [for] 27 years. But like most big corporations, they've kind of lost touch with their workers and through Covid and whatever, they started cutting out programs," he said. "We used to get cheques for 20 years, and that's what I actually thought that movie ticket was. I was like 'hey, they finally gave me my card', and then I saw it was not even two movie tickets — it was one. So I was like 'this is just too much', and [it seemed] it was just stuff they had laying around that they put together," he said.

Outraged by Ford’s story, people quickly launched a GoFundMe campaign to show their appreciation. Moved by Ford's story, David Spade generously donated to his campaign. The comedy star donated $5,000 to his GoFundMe campaign and also dropped him a message on Instagram. It was Ford's daughter who told him Spade had made a donation. When Ford checked his Instagram message, he saw a message from the actor congratulating him. Ford replied, “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...” Spade joked, “Wait till year 30.” Ford chuckled and replied, “Damn, Are You One Of My Managers??? Thank You Again, Sir, You're the Best. Have A Great Day...”

Burger King tried to play down the incident after the video gained people's attention. The fast-food chain said the gifts were in HMS Host packaging and was just a “peer-to-peer reward in recognition of a short-term positive performance/experience." The company claimed it recognized the milestones of employees. “The franchisee offers its Team Members a robust employee recognition program, which includes the recognition of tenure milestones and monetary awards,” said the spokesperson said. 

The GoFundMe campaign has raised $161,200 so far. "My father 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," wrote Seryna Ford. "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," read the description. It's so great to see how people were supporting him.

This article originally appeared 2 years ago.