Strangers are raising £100,000 for a Burger King worker who received a ‘depressing’ long-service gift

Kevin Ford, a 60-year-old Burger King employee from Nevada, started working at the company as a single father to get custody of his first two children

A Burger King worker has received more than £108,000 in donations after receiving a “depressing” gift for working there for 27 years – without missing a single shift.

Kevin Ford, a 60-year-old Burger King employee from Nevada, started working at the company as a single father to get custody of his first two children.

When a video of Kevin giving him a movie ticket, a bag of candy, a coffee mug, a lanyard and some pens as a thank you gift went viral, his dedication to his job at the Las Vegas Airport burger joint became known chain spread.

Speak with NewsNationNowFord said he was “happy and grateful” when he received the gift.

“There are people I’ve worked with for 20 or 30 years and they didn’t get anything. I’m happy with everything,” he said.

But the gift was called “depressing” and “embarrassing” by people online, with one viewer of the video tweeting, “Is that all you could do for this man?”.

Another suggested he deserved an entire franchise or an “all expenses paid trip.”

People came together when Kevin’s daughter set up a GoFundMe page to give him the parting gift he felt he deserved, raising 4,000 donations totaling $133,000 (£108,000).

Kevin said he was “overwhelmed” by the generosity.

“I’ve been crying for three days now. I can not believe it. I really can’t,” he said.

He couldn’t understand why he had never missed a shift in his 27 years of work, he said.

“I don’t know myself. I don’t know how I did that! Maybe I’m a robot? I just never thought about taking a day off. I just try to work as hard as I can in whatever I’m doing,” he explained.

As Kevin’s family grew over the years he stayed at his job, he continued to work there because of the amazing health insurance, his daughter said.

She said that although he looked young, he was nearing retirement age and leaving would cost him his retirement.

While the family asked for money “in no way,” she said if anyone would care to bless him, they would be happy to visit his grandchildren.

The outpouring of support had shocked the family.

“I’m here to get through dinner without crying! You are such remarkable people,” Seryna wrote in an update on Friday. “I honestly can’t believe it. You changed his life! Thanks very much! A thousand THANKS!!!!”

One of the donors was famed comedian David Spade who donated $5,000 and had a private Instagram exchange with Kevin.

David told him to “get on with the good work.”

According to a screenshot of their exchange obtained by TMZ, Kevin replied, “Holy s**t dude,” accompanied by three shocked facial emojis.

Kevin said he’s now looking forward to some time off.