Single mom gives $1,000 tip to help build community park

NASHVILLE, Ind. (WXIN) - A single mom in Indiana got an incredibly generous tip from customers at her job as a bartender.

Instead of using the money on herself and her children, she's putting it back into her community.

It was a slow Saturday night at Hotel Nashville.

Anna Hofstetter says she was taken aback by the $1,000 tip left by a couple on a trip for their anniversary.

“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 struck up a conversation with the couple. She told them she's a single mom and works three jobs to provide for her two kids.

“Their check came out to $32.40 And when I picked up the receipt, I was a little taken aback,” she remembered.

Clearly written in the tip column - $1,000 - and on the bottom there was a message saying “Give something for the kids.”

Hofstetter told the couple, “thank you so much, you have no idea what this means to me.”

She could've used it for her kids' birthday, their college fund, or to pay off her student loans but then she had another idea after bumping into the Brown County Enrichment for Teens Association Inc. President Clara Stanley.

Stanley and a group of kids are collecting money to build a skate park in their 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 explained.

Anna thought the project would make a lasting impact, worth a $1,000 donation.

“I know Anna is doing a lot of working hours, single mom. $1,000 is big money,” Stanley said.

But Anna said she’s thinking long-term.

“So it is for my kids, my personal children. But it's also for all the kids in the community,” she explained. “This money was intended for something significant.”

Kids on Wheels has already raised roughly $25,000 for the skate and teen park. Their fundraising goal is $120,000.

They are getting some help through state grants. If they collect another $50,000 before September 22, they will receive a $50,000 matching grant from the state of Indiana.