This was no ordinary tip.
After a slow night at Pequod’s Pizza in Chicago's Lincoln Park Thursday, a waitress was given a shocking surprise when a man handed her a $500 tip, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“She was shocked, she was shaking,” said Sean Asbra, general manager at Pequod’s Pizza. “It was a total surprise.”
Asbra said the Lincoln Park pizza restaurant was nearly as surprised as the server to learn of the tip.
“You try to take care of everybody when they come in no matter who they are,” he said. “Out of all the places they could have gone they picked us.”
But Vanessa Goldschmidt wasn’t the only waitress to be graced with the random act. In fact, she’s the latest in a string of servers being given the $500 tip in honor of Aaron Collins.
Aaron Collins reportedly committed suicide on July 7, 2012, but not before leaving behind a will requesting that his family go out to eat and leave an “awesome tip” like $500 for a pizza.
“The small things people did for [Aaron] are what touched him the most,” a website for Aaron’s Last Wish reads. “He was generous with the limited means he had, and his last wishes were that any money he had be given freely in ways that would impact those who received it.”
The first tip given was recorded by Collins’ brother Seth Collins and went viral on YouTube . The post resulted in a stream of donations to continue completing “Aaron’s Last Wish.”
The flood of support led Seth Collins to embark on a road trip, offering $500 tips across the country.
“That first video created a tidal wave of giving,” Seth Collins wrote on his indiegogo fundraising page. “Now I want to spread those $500 tips to every state in the country.”
The next stops scheduled in the midwest are Milwaukee, St. Paul and Des Moines.
“I want to make as many people as possible part of this journey,” Seth Collins wrote on the fundraising page.
Donate to Aaron's Last Wish here.
Photo Credit: Aaron's Last Wish