54- year- old Kevin Ford is the man that you want working for you.
He’s the man that I would gratefully hire in a New York minute.
Why?
Kevin is a cook and cashier at Burger King’s Las Vegas International Airport location, and has been for 27 years.
And in all that time, he has not missed his shift one. single. time.
That’s why.
He took the job once he found out his then girlfriend and now wife was pregnant with their first child.
His dreams of a higher education was dashed by responsibilities and sacrifice.
And he kept the job as his family grew, now with four children.
And he was able provide for his family and to send and put all four daughters through college on his, to many, meager wages.
That’s why.
He kept the job because that location was and is unionized, and provided the health insurance his family needed.
On his anniversary, his 27th, Burger King decided to thank him with gifts that they thought commensurate with such loyalty.
A goody bag of thanks.
He decided to open the bag on his TikTok account, in disbelief at the callous injustice.
You see, Kevin was given …. sigh…. a Starbucks reusable tumbler, a bag of Reese’s candy, a couple of disposable pens and two rolls of Lifesavers.
Oh, and a single movie ticket.
The video went viral.
And those that saw the video were outraged, shocked and dismayed.
His daughter Seryna started a gofundme page to help her father, who was always there for her and her siblings, again, at great sacrifice.
The goal was to raise $200 for a trip…. an economy round trip to New York... for Kevin to see his grandchildren, whom he couldn’t afford to see for four years.
Remember, that almost fully 50% of American families cannot afford a single $500 emergency.
Hi, My name is Seryna. The man in that video is my father. 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.
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 this posting, that gofundme has raised $327,000.
And has thousands sending kudos and admiration to Kevin.
And scorn to Burger King, to HMSHost, a food service company for restaurants like Burger King that contracts employees like Kevin out to, and a system that is allowed to enact such despicable and callous disregard towards their employees.
David Spade reached out after donating $5,000 with, “Keep up the good work.”
Kevin replied, “I love you my brother! Much love and God bless…I think I might be able to take a day off.”
And David, “Wait till you’re 30!”
Indeed.
“I’ve been crying for about two days now. It’s just incredible. I just go to work and try to have fun and laugh and make other people’s day good. It’s like I’ve been in a dream for almost two days now. It’s just so beautiful and awesome. It really is.
For all those years, you feel unappreciated, but you get up just like everybody else. You do your job, and for somebody to show this appreciation is just overwhelming.”
His wish to see his grandchildren came true when he was flown out to NYC to appear on the Today show and was reunited with his grandchildren.
“I haven’t seen my grandkids in over four years, until the other day when ‘The Today Show’ flew me out to New York and I got to see them live on TV.
I’ve been crying for all these days as it is and of course I’m crying live on TV again seeing my grandbabies.”
And no one is surprised that he, with some of the money, has already started a college fund for each of his grandbabies.
Many scoff at workers like Kevin, saying that he works at a place like Burger King well into his 50’s because of poor life choices.
I have read that here on many an occasion.
When in reality, more often than not, it’s because of stepping up to responsibility and service over self.
On my first car way back in the day, there was a bumper sticker on it that said, ‘God, let me be the kind of man my dog thinks I am.’
And now I think, ‘God, let me be the kind of man that Kevin Ford has turned out to be.’
This has been Kevin’s moment to know how we so appreciate and honour his lifetime of heroic and humble sacrifice.
And so many of those like him.
A working class hero.
Is something to be.
Until we fix this broken broken system that we find ourselves in, and realign its priorities…
…. we must take care of each other.