Lakeland server gets massive $1,000 tip from local non-profit

LAKELAND, Fla. - Lakeland server Stacey White just got the biggest tip of her life because of a non-profit. 

White, who works at Reesecliff Family Diner on South Florida Avenue in Lakeland, is a single mother of three little kids, so every penny she brings home counts. 

A few days before Christmas, she got a record-breaking tip of $1,000. 

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"I paused because I was in shock," she told FOX 13. "Then the overwhelming feeling of gratitude set in. I just started crying afterwards, because it just shows that there are good people still out there."

The tip came from a non-profit called, "The Big Fat Tip." It is the brainchild of Deedre Daniel, a former server herself.

"I made this little vow to myself, when I made it, I would go around giving out big fat tips," Daniel said.

She founded the organization back in 2018 when she was unemployed. Since Daniel still isn’t made of money, she accepts donations, primarily from friends and friends of friends, then pools the money.

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"Some have donated $5 or $10," she explained. "Some have donated a full $1,000."

When the pot reaches $1,000, she and her volunteers randomly pick a restaurant and give the tip to whoever happens to be their server.

"I think it is awesome," commented David Coleman, one of White’s customers at Reesecliff. "I tip good, but not like that."

The Big Fat Tip has been around for years. The non-profit has tipped 39 servers locally and across the country.

If you want to be a part of it, visit bigfattip.org/donate.