He hasn’t missed his job at Burger King in 27 years, his case went viral and people rewarded him: “A miracle”

Do you remember Kevin Ford, the loyal Burger King employee who never missed work for 27 years and was only rewarded with a bag of chocolates, a glass, two pens and a movie ticket as an anniversary present? WELL, now he bought a house.

His case became known in June 2022. He made headlines for the empathy generated in the public by the almost zero compensation he received for being one of the most consistent workers.

Thanks to the help of people who felt challenged by their situation, Ford managed to buy a house in Pahrump, Nevada. It cost him 177 thousand dollars. It has 846 square feet, three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

“I wanted to show you something, something that you made possible, that you did for me, that I’m just a hard-working guy,” Ford says in a video posted to Instagram on Dec. 29.

“A miracle”

Ford, who still works at the Burger King at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, now has to travel an hour to work. And he doesn’t care.

“I want to thank everyone around the world for what they have done for me, something I never thought was possible for me: own a house“Ford says in the video.

“Now my children and grandchildren have a place to come and visit me, and I just want to thank everyone for being a part of this miracle and for everything they have done for me and continue to do for me every day,” he concludes.

Ford also told TMZ he will use the rest of the donated funds to retire, renovate his new home and give his daughter cash for her own home.

He hasn’t missed work in 27 years and it went viral

“The company sent me a bunch of stuff they had lying around,” Kevin says in the video that changed my life.

When the clip of the Burger King employee opening the gift bag exploded online, he simply wanted to show off his lackluster anniversary gift. I wanted to highlight the difference compared to what I received before Covid, which was no more and no less than a check with money.

Of course: he clarified that the gift came from Burger King’s human resources company.

In 2022, in the company’s defense, a BK spokesperson clarified to TMZ that “after reviewing with the affiliate of this location, we discovered that this video shows a team member receiving a peer-to-peer reward in recognition of a performance.” long-term positive experience.”

And he concludes: “The franchisee offers its team members a robust employee recognition program, which includes recognition of work achievements and cash rewards.”

Thanks to the viral TikTok clip from mid-2022, Kevin has received more than $400,000 in donations. Her daughter started a GoFundMe campaign for her and it worked.

“We are in no way asking for money nor does he expect money, but if anyone cares to bless him, he would love to visit his grandchildren,” he wrote. Serina Ford on GoFundMe in June 2022.

The family raised more than 439,000, of which they kept about 350,000 as the GoFundMe “took a sizable cut,” Ford told TMZ.

Thanks to NBC’s Today show, Kevin flew to New York and was visited by his grandchildren. It was all recorded on television, as it was also the only day he missed work in 28 years.