Kevin Ford, the Burger King veteran who went viral for never missing a day of work in 27 years and inspired folks from all over the world to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to him, just bought a house using those funds.
On Dec. 29, Ford posted a video update on TikTok and Instagram with details about the house he just closed on in Western Nevada.
“I’m trying to get through without crying but I wanted to show you something, something you made possible,” Ford says in the video. “I know it’s not a mansion, but it’s mine.”
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In the video, Ford takes viewers through his three bedroom, two bathroom house in Pahrump, Nevada.
Ford’s life was forever changed, when in June 2022, a viral video showed him receiving a gift from management for his dedication to his job at Burger King, after not missing a shift in 27 years.
The gift from HMSHost, the company from which Burger King hires, included a Starbucks reusable tumbler, a bag of Reese’s candy, pens and two rolls of Lifesavers and other items. Ford, who expressed his gratitude in the video he originally posted on Instagram, garnered quite the response online, with many feeling he deserved more.
His daughter Seryna started a GoFundMe in his honor, and it has raised nearly $450,000 to date. Ford says he used a sizable chunk of the donations to buy the house.
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“I want to thank everyone all around the world for what you’ve done for me, something I have never thought would be possible for me: homeownership,” Ford says in the video. “Now my kids and my grandkids have someplace to come visit me.”
Ford concludes his video by showing viewers through his outdoor deck, kitchen and living room — complete with a nod to his visit to the TODAY Show when he reunited with his daughter and grandkids after four years apart.
“It’s got a nice backyard and I don’t have any neighbors to my right,” Ford tells TODAY.com over the phone at the start of the new year, adding that his new neighbors are a very kind family. “Everything’s really nice. Now the only thing I have to get used to is it is quiet out there.”
Ford told TODAY.com in December 2022 that he had used some of the funds raised to buy his dream car and help out his family, saying at the time that he gave his daughter a sizable portion, which she used to buy herself a house. Now, Ford has one of his own.
“It feels so great to be independent,” he says.
Ford says his attendance record is still going strong, and that the drive to work from his new house is a peaceful one. He adds that he is continuously planning for his future, setting some money aside to hopefully open his own “little restaurant” one day.
The donations to Ford’s GoFundMe are still regularly coming in more than a year and a half after his daughter started it. Many people have donated $27 in honor of Ford’s now more than 27 years on the job.
“When I try to think of how I feel, it’s very difficult because this is unbelievable, it still feels like a dream that this is happening to anybody, let alone me,” says Ford.
“I tell people all the time that if you have lost faith in your God, your beliefs or just life, you can hold me up as an example. Just look at what the world has done for a perfect stranger.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
