NYC Waitress Gets $3,000 Tip On $43.50 Bill

Nell Casey

Published Apr 29, 2015

Modified Apr 29, 2015

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Nell Casey

Published Apr 29, 2015

Modified Apr 29, 2015

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A waitress in Times Square was the beneficiary of a touching pay-it-forward campaign last week when she was given a 7,000% tip on a bill under $50. A regular named Mike left the server $3,000 on a bill of $43.50 to help combat an eviction notice that the woman was recently served, according to Good Morning America. Even more sweet, the gesture was inspired by Mike's 8th grade science teacher, who began an organization called ReesSpechtLife following a personal tragedy.

"This woman had been serving us for almost a year now. She's a lovely individual, and she talked about how she was served an eviction notice last month," explained Mike, the giver of the generous tip told ABC News. "I just had also been constantly thinking about for quite some time my teacher's project and this foundation, and I thought it was an appropriate time." Neither Mike nor the restaurant wished to be identified.

Mike's teacher was Richard Specht, a Sound Beach, NY father whose 22-month-old son drowned in the family's backyard just two days before Hurricane Sandy struck. "Then we went through the storm and lost our power for two weeks and it was a nightmare on top of a nightmare," Specht told Yahoo Parenting. But after friends, family and even strangers reached out to help, Specht knew he wanted to take action. "If we couldn't pay it back we'd pay it forward."

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pay it forward

reespecht life

Nell Casey

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