Maria Mendoza has raised $125,000 dollars to pay for a Burger King employee's college tuition.
And that number is skyrocketing even as I write.
I have had to change the headline twice, because the total amount is rising so rapidly!
After attending his high school graduation ceremony and retrieving his diploma, , Mykale Baker ran to his job. He found his co-workers swamped.
He sprang in to action, still wearing his graduation clothes and medals he'd received, and he wound up behind the counter working an impromptu shift.
That's how Maria Mendoza found him -- beaming with pride, and exuding the joy of someone feeling accomplished and confident about the future.
But he had no idea just how wild the future was about to get for him.
Maria pulled out her phone and took a simple video of Mykale simply because she was struck by the moment, his emotion, and his dedication to his job.
Here's a photo used by the local NBC affiliate in their story after Maria posted the video to a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Mykale's college tuition:
That story was published less than 24 hours ago, and the total amount raised is now off by a whopping $35,000 dollars! (And I am changing my headline for the third time to reflect the increase!)
Maria described what she saw when she pulled through the drive thru window that made her take such a bold step, as reported by the local NBC Affiliate in Atlanta:
Just hours after walking across the stage to receive his high school diploma, Mykale Baker was back at work, still wearing his graduation medals, ready to serve up burgers and fries at Burger King.
While many of his classmates celebrated late into the night, Mykale clocked in for his shift with a smile.
It was that smile, and his quiet dedication, that stopped Maria Mendoza in her tracks.
Maria had just come from watching her daughter, Daisy, graduate. Beaming with pride, she pulled into the drive-thru to grab a late-night snack. But when she saw Mykale, something about the moment stuck with her.
"He was so kind, so polite," she said. "Radiating joy, even after such a big day. His dedication and quiet strength really moved me. I felt called to do something to recognize that."
She decided to start a GoFundMe to help Mykale with his college expenses.
And the community showed up.
The TikTok video Maria took and uploaded has been seen millions of times.
It's a simple 21 second clip that is now pulling in thousands of dollars and hour for one industrious young man's college tuition.
I'm taking a screenshot and locking in my headline at the $125k mark, even though it will probably be outdated by the time I publish this article:
You can access the GoFundMe campaign here: From Burger King to a College Dream
Maria said Mykale didn't do it to catch any attention, and that he had no clue the video even went viral at first.
Until she showed back up with a sizable amount and explained the situation to him.
Maria's thoughtfulness completely changed the trajectory of Mykale's future, opening doors that he simply didn't have the ability to afford, as reported by the New York Post:
Mykale Baker picked up a shift at the Dacula, Georgia, restaurant where he worked after seeing the late-night rush on May 21.
The 18-year-old had graduated from Mills Creek High School hours earlier and was still wearing his graduation stole and medals while donning plastic gloves to bag orders at the fast food joint.
Mendoza's 20-second clip of Baker has been viewed over 3 million times.
"He didn't do it for attention. He doesn't even know his story went viral. But thousands of people were moved by his dedication, humility, and work ethic," she wrote.
The GoFundMe has garnered over $22,000, and all the money will be given to Baker so he can pursue his college dreams.
On May 26, Mendoza returned to the Burger King and showed Baker the thousands of dollars raised for his future.
The teen was brought to tears over the generosity of the nearly thousand donors and offered hugs to both his mother and Mendoza in a second heartfelt video posted to TikTok.
Baker revealed the uncertainty he faced post-graduation because of financial restrictions, but was hoping to go to a trade school.
"Thank you so much, I was thinking of taking a gap year because I didn't have money for school, but thank you to all of you now, I might actually go straight to technical college and get my mechanical (sic)," he said, addressing Mendoza's TikTok followers.
"I never thought this would happen to me, I'm very thankful," Baker added, fighting through tears.
Here's a story from the local NBC News Affiliate, 11 Alive, covering the situation -- when the total had reached a MERE $20k.
Maria and Mykale met back up at the Burger King to tell what happened.
This is a great story, with nothing but good will and people looking out for each other all around -- like we're supposed to do:
I refuse to change my headline again.
But just for the record... the total amount raised is about to cross the $126k threshold.
At the moment, more than 3,500 people have donated for no other reason than they were moved by Mykale's work ethic and attitude, just like Maria was.
It occurs to me that it would be easy to drag this story down and make light of such a simple act receiving such a big response.
But the fact is... we now live in a society where that sort of work ethic and "chin-up" mentality just isn't normal! It isn't even taught anymore!
We have created the victimhood mentality, the entitlement mentality, and the lazy living mentality.
So in reality, it really is a big deal. And as much as it SHOULDN'T be so rare -- it is.
Mykale's behavior stands out all the more because of it.
The largest donation to date was $2,000, and the very first donation was $100, by Maria Mendoza.