Burger King Employee Who Never Missed a Day of Work in 27 Years Gets $400,000 in Donations: ‘It’s a Miracle’

Kevin Ford and his daughter Seryna have raised money from thousands of donors, after the Burger King worker’s TikTok went viral

Kevin Ford has never missed a shift in his 27 years at Burger King.

In June 2022, a TikTok Ford posted sharing the reward Burger King gave him for his dedication and years of service went viral. People were inspired by Ford’s positive attitude while he went through the gifts he received for his decades of working at the fast food chain’s location in Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport, formerly known as the McCarran International Airport.

“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.

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He wraps up the video, saying, “This is my reward for working 27 years. Thank you guys,” while holding two thumbs up.

People in the comments were quick to criticize the fast food chain’s compensation for years of service. “This is so wrong on so many levels. Give him a week off with pay so he can visit his grandchildren,” one user wrote, while another told Ford, “You sir deserve way more than this!” Many in the comments simply tagged the corporation with calls to “do better.”

Ford’s daughter Seryna tells PEOPLE she was on Twitter, now known as X, when she said she saw the video shared to the platform. She noticed people in the comments saying, "Somebody needs to start a GoFundMe for this man" and thought to herself, “Well, I’m somebody.”

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On June 21, 2022, Seryna launched her 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.

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“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 actor David 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.”

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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 children on the Today show just 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.”

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