Customers recently surprised a beloved bagel shop employee with a random act of kindness that stuns and inspires.
Shirley Ratliff has been taking three different buses to get to work every day at Bruegger’s Bagel Shop in Raleigh, North Carolina where she has worked since 2006. The 47-year old worker had been saving for a car but that money was consumed by the cost of cancer treatments she was faced with a few years back.

 
Ratliff has a group of loyal customers, who call themselves “The Shirley Fan Club”, wanted to make things a little easier for her. They decided to pool their resources and get her a car. Last week they delivered the car to her in a moment she described as unforgettable.

 
She told local reporters who were on hand for the event, she had no idea her customers would go to such extremes for her.
It is Shirley’s positive attitude that has won her so many loyal and devoted customers. One of those customers, David Burton, masterminded the plan. When he invited other customers to pitch in for the new car, they were enthusiastic.

 
He said none of them even blinked and most asked how much money he wanted them to contribute. Most offered up $100 or $200, proving the Christmas spirit is alive and well in Raleigh.

 
In just two days, Burton had secured enough cash to purchase a used 1992 Buick LeSabre. He was also able to pay the taxes and provide automobile insurance. Though Ratliff is currently without a driver’s license, that is something she will changing quickly.
When asked why the customers did this for Ratliff, Craig Boyd explained that Shirley always has a smile and that she takes care of all of them. Perhaps it was their way of taking care of her, too.

Pizza man gets huge tip from college kids. Photo By Huffington Post

At Indiana Wesleyan University, CEO of Residential Education, Keith Newman, found a way to teach the lesson of giving to his students and faculty during a recent chapel service. The lesson, “do for one what you wish you could do for everyone” was demonstrated this past Wednesday with the pizza delivery man from Domino’s Pizza.

After ordering a couple of pizzas to be delivered to the university chapel, Newman passed around the basket to collect donations for the delivery man’s tip. He also asked everyone present to write a note of thanks to the unknown man. The bill for the pizzas was just $12.50. The amount collected for the tip was substantially more.

James Gilpin probably thought this was just another day at work. There is now way he could have known when he was brought to the stage in the chapel what was about to happen. He was given a piece of cake, a bag containing the thousands of notes and a tip of more than $1,200.00.

Jim Lo a faculty member who helped organize the event and was present for the generous tip-giving, described Gilpin’s face. Gilpin listened as what was being given to him was announced. His face was completely blank for a few moments. But as he left the stage with his tip, that smile was “wonderful to behold”, according to Lo.

Gilpin later he said he was completely overwhelmed by the act. He was not alone. Students who were there cheered, clapped and cried all at the same time. They later said they had definitely learned a lesson about the impact participating in such an act of random kindness can have – not only on the recipient but on the giver.

Gilpin plans to use the money to buy Christmas gifts for his kids this year. Looks like gift will influence others, too.