New Jersey waitress surprised with $1200 tip in Christmas act of kindness

“I really hope this shows people that there’s power in community and all it takes is a group of friends to come together and change someone else’s life.”

Really cool story about the power of coordinated kindness. In New Jersey, a woman who works as a waitress was surprised by a $1,200 cash tip left as an early holiday gift by a man and a group of his friends.

NJ.com reports that Zellie Thomas and his friends left the tip for her at the IHOP restaurant in Paterson on Saturday. Each friend brought $100, and it added up to $1,200.

The waitress figured it was a mistake and tried to return the money at first, Thomas told the paper.

"I really hope this shows people that there's power in community and all it takes is a group of friends to come together and change someone else's life," Thomas told a reporter.

"You'd be really surprised, if you put that call out to your friends, how many people would be supportive of that idea."

Very cool story. "Shock and Claus."

Here's video.

PS: I would like to put the call out to my friends, including you, to vote for lawmakers who support a living wage for everyone who works in low-paying service industry jobs, how many people would be supportive of that idea?

More: NJ.com and AP.com.

[photo: pexels.com, modified by blogger]