Callie Blue, a waitress working at Gus's Diner in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, had just started her very early morning shift on Christmas Day when Michael Johnson, the president and CEO of the local Boys and Girls club, walked in to have breakfast.
Johnson was her second customer of the day and they spoke for nearly 45 minutes. But little did Blue know, Johnson had a mission to give back and she was the lucky person about to
be the recipient of his generosity.
Michael Johnson had grown up disliking Christmas because his family could not afford to celebrate the holiday. He decided one day that he would do whatever he could to bring joy and lift
people's spirits who were facing a similar hardship. He then became the head of the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County in order to give back and improve the lives of others.
"This year we raised over $100,000. We gave away a brand new car to a family of five. We tipped several waitresses, we took about 50 families on shopping sprees and we secured toys for over 600 kids in our county," Johnson told CBS News. The money, he said, was all fundraised on social media, and he had taken recommendations on who to give gifts to.
He had a busy day of giving ahead of him and that's why he came into Gus's Diner so early on Christmas morning so that he could get an early start.
"I got up at like 4:00 in the morning. I said 'OK, let me see if I can find a restaurant that's open at like 6:00,' so when I Googled it, I saw that Gus's Diner was open. Coincidentally, someone on my Facebook page had mentioned Callie, so I went up there, not even knowing if she was going to be there, and as soon as I walked in she was right there," Johnson said.
Johnson recorded a video of Blue receiving the tip and thanking her for smiling and working so early on the Christmas holiday.
Blue told CBS News that she first thought the tip was "a total joke."
and I was like, 'That's just not real.' It was really exciting. I only cried a little bit."
Ever since the story had gone viral on social media, Blue reached out to Johnson in hopes to help him spread joy to others.
"It's been a wild ride," she said. "It's been wild. It's been very humbling and very exciting."
Source: MSN.com