Single mom got a $1,000 tip and thought of a ‘big Christmas.’ Then she thought bigger
When a single mom with two kids and three jobs first saw the $1,000 tip that a couple left her, her “first thought was a big Christmas,” she told WTHR.
“Student loans, get a mortgage payment ahead, Christmas, big birthday,” waitress Anna Hofstetter, of Indiana, told the station. “But something kept ringing in my mind, the note at the bottom...”
The note at the very bottom of the Hotel Nashville receipt with a $32.40 bill said, “Give something for kids,” according to a photo of the receipt that was viewed by WTHR. The receipt also had “XOXO” and a heart drawn onto it.
The message and tip was from a husband and wife who were celebrating their seventh wedding anniversary, the Brown County Democrat reported.
“They were having dinner at the same table in the bar where they’d sat on their wedding day,” the newspaper reported.
Throughout their dinner, which included two Long Island iced teas, a crab artichoke dip and a dinner special, the couple asked Hofstetter about her family, the newspaper reported.
“I never, ever try to solicit tips for gaining sympathy about my life. I keep it super professional. But if people ask me questions, I’m going to answer them,” the single mom told the Democrat. “… I told them I have two other jobs — three jobs, two kids, one mom.”
After serving the couple and getting to know them, Hofstetter saw the $1,000 tip written out on the receipt. That was on July 21.
“I thought this is a joke. This is a typo,” she told WTHR. “But it was very clearly written in the tip and in the total. The receipt also had a couple of notes ‘xoxo’ with a heart and then at the bottom it said ‘give something to the kids.’”
So, over the next couple of days, she thought about how to spend — or save — the money, the Democrat reported, but “serendipity” made the decision for her.
“Serendipity” happened when she met Clara Stanley, a woman with “Kids on Wheels,” who is working to raise money for a skate and teen park in Brown County, Fox59 reported.
After talking to Stanley, the single mom knew a $1,000 donation would benefit many kids for a long time, the station reported.
“Anna called me. I was in tears. I just shared with other people that I couldn’t believe it,” Stanley told WTHR. “Single mom! Working three jobs! But she put her dream out there and said Clara I really want to help you guys!”
On Sunday, Kids on Wheels thanked Hofstetter and other women who donated to the project this week.
Fox59 reported that Kids on Wheels has raised about $25,000 of a $120,000 goal. The project will also include a hammock swing area, tire swings, picnic tables and a Ga-Ga Pit (for dodge ball), according to its fundraising website.
“I really feel like this skate park will be for my kids, for all of our kids,” Hofstetter told the Democrat. “Investing in the kids will have a residual effect throughout the community, and this is not just speculation ... I just feel like it’s serendipitous that this happened.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2018 at 11:31 AM.