Long-time Burger King cook who never missed a day of work buys his first home after viral fundraising campaign

Kevin Ford has hit yet another major milestone.

In the summer of 2022, Ford went viral after posting a video on TikTok showing the gift bag he had received to celebrate his 27 years as a cook and cashier at Burger King at Harry Reid International Airport in Paradise, Nevada. During his tenure, Ford had never missed a day of work.

In the video, Ford shows that he had received a bag with a movie ticket, two pens, two keychains in a plastic drawstring backpack, chocolate cake, and some candies.

After the video went viral, one of Ford’s daughters created a GoFundMe page in June 2022. The campaign’s goal, intended to help Ford retire comfortably, was reached multiple times and has continued to increase since it was created. At the time of writing, the campaign had raised $449,276 of the $450,000 goal, with over 14,000 donations.

Recently, Ford told TMZ that he bought a house in December with the money raised from the GoFundMe. Ford said he directly received $350,000 from the GoFundMe.

He reportedly bought the three-bedroom, two-bathroom 846-square-feet house in Pahrump, Nevada for $177,000.

“I know it’s not a mansion, but it’s mine,” Ford said in a TikTok video. “I want to thank everyone all around the world for what you’ve done for me, something that I thought would never be possible for me, home ownership.”

The house includes a covered front deck, a fenced-in yard and views of the surrounding mountains.

With the rest of his GoFundMe cash, Ford told USA Today, he gave his daughter a part of it, paid off debts, bought a second car and put the rest away for his retirement.

“They truly saved my life,” Ford told USA Today about receiving the GoFundMe money. “They’ve caught me up in life. I believe everybody should have savings for their children and their future. They made that dream come true for me.”

Even though Ford’s new home is an hour from his job at Burger King, he told TMZ he doesn’t mind the long commute.

Since going viral, Ford continues to work at Burger King and has only missed one day of work, which was for a Today Show appearance last year.

Representatives for Ford and Burger King did not immediately respond to CNBC Make It’s request for comment.

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