Single mom pays it forward after getting $1K tip
NASHVILLE, Ind. - A single mom in Indiana got an incredibly generous tip from customers at her job.
But instead of using it on herself, she's putting the money back into her community.
It was a slow Saturday night at Hotel Nashville when Anna Hofstetter struck up a conversation with a couple while bartending.
"They sat at a little table right by the door, and they said that they got married here at the Hotel Nashville seven years ago," Hofstetter said.
She told the couple she's a single mom and works three jobs to provide for her two kids.
The couple took their drinks, paid and left quietly.
"Their check came out to $32.40. And when I picked up the receipt, I was a little taken aback," Hofstetter said.
Clearly written in the tip column was $1,000.
And on the bottom a message saying "Give something for the kids."
Hofstetter could have used it for her kids' birthday, college fun, or even to pay off her student loans.
But then she had another idea after bumping into Clara Stanley, the president of Brown County Enrichment for Kids Association Inc.
Stanley and a group of kids are collecting money to build a skate park in the county.
"Brown County has been lacking a healthy, wonderful place for little children or youth, especially youth can go and express themselves, hang out," Stanley said.
It was a project that Anna thought would make a lasting impact, worth a $1,000 donation.
"So it is for my kids, my personal children. But it's also for all the kids in the community," Hofstetter said.
Kids on Wheels has already raised roughly $25,000 for the skate and teen park.
Their fundraising goal is $120,000.
If they collect another $50,000 before Sept. 22, they will receive a $50,000 matching grant from the state of Indiana.