Doing one good deed goes a long way. As proven by one worker at Acorn Coffee Shop at in Elon University, students felt it's only right to give back the little care the coffee shop worker gives every day to the students. The students collaborated and surprised the hardworking coffee shop worker with fully paid vacation trip to Disneyland.
In a heart-warming story covered by Huffington Post, Kathryn Thompson, the coffee worker at Acorn Coffee Shop was reportedly surprised by adoring students before her shift started last Monday night. The students each contributed for Kathryn's fully paid vacation to Disney World. According to students Lucy Smith-Williams and Taylor Zisholtz, upon knowing that a trip to the Disney World with her family is Kathryn's dream, both students initiated the GoFundMe campaign which asked the university community to contribute and make Kathryn's dream come true.
"I really took to her warmth," Zisholtz said to Elon Local News. "She was very invested in where we were from, what we were doing, and when she said 'it's my dream,' I thought, 'well there are 6,000 people here with at least a dollar. We could probably make this happen."
According to the report, Thompson has worked at the cafe for over 10 years. She's spending five days a week working, with her shift ending at 2 A.M. It was reported in the University paper that her parents graduated from the same University in the 1950's.
"She's been here for a long time," said Glenn Austin, Acorn's assistant location manager. "She's dependable. She hardly ever calls off and is a stable employee for the night shift. I think it's a wonderful surprise."
In less than three weeks the GoFundMe page has raised more than $6,000 to fly Kathryn and four of her family to Disney World.
Williams and Zisholtz were both wearing Mickey Mouse T-shirts and carried a sign saying: "We wanted to thank you for all that you do... you and your family are going to DISNEY WORLD" along with messages they've gotten from the GoFundMe page.
"It was really exciting," Smith-Williams said. "Of course she's really shocked, so she didn't understand at first, but once we explained it to her, she was so surprised. It was everything we hoped for."
It has been Kathryn's dream to take her autistic grandson to Disney World so he can meet his favourite character Mickey Mouse.
"I'm excited just to be going," Kathryn said. "To see my grandson's eyes light up when he sees Mickey. I hope he won't be scared of him."
"It was everything we hoped for," Zisholtz said. "We couldn't have done it without the community. We have everything ready and we just need to stamp a date."
