When a New Hampshire woman shared a Facebook post about a hardworking employee of a local Dunkin Donuts, neither she or he expected what would happen next.
Kyle Bigler works at both a Dunkin Donuts and a Big Apple in Belmont, New Hampshire. He works approximately 20 hours every Sunday and Monday, going from one job straight to the other.
Bigler did not have a car, however, so he walked 16 miles every day to make it to work, where he earns minimum wage at both jobs.
One customer, Joanna Griffiths, noticed how hard Bigler works and wanted to honor his work ethic in a Facebook post after she encountered him three different times around town in one day.
Griffiths saw Bigler at Dunkin Donuts at around 7:30 a.m. Then, at around 3:30 p.m., she spotted him walking on the side of the road on her way to work. Finally, at 10:45 p.m., she saw him again at the Big Apple gas station. She offered to give him a ride home, but he declined as he works the graveyard shift at the gas station.
“I’ve never seen someone with such a strong work ethic,” Griffiths told TODAY.
The next time Griffiths saw Bigler, she snapped a photo of him working the drive thru at Dunkin Donuts and posted it on Facebook, along with a post explaining how hard he works.
The next day, she received a countless number of comments and messages from people wanting to offer Bigler a job or donate money for him to buy a car. One message stood out to Griffiths. It was from the owners of a nearby car dealership, who offered to give Bigler a car for free so he no longer had to walk to work.
The dealership gave Bigler a 2005 Honda Accord, which he looks forward to driving as soon as he passes his driving test.
Photo Credit: Pixabay, Sarah Dalgie via TODAY, Joanna Griffiths via People
“I’m going to have to figure out what to do with my time now that I won’t be walking to work!” he said.
Griffiths was shocked by the response to the post.
“When I wrote the original post, I never expected anything like this to happen,” Griffiths told People. “I just wanted people to know that everyone struggles in life, all that matters is how you respond to the struggle and persevere.”
She added: “He really touched my heart because he never once complained. He is so kind, humble and happy. I was very emotional when they gave him the keys to his car. I am just so grateful that the positive message got as much recognition as it did.”
Bigler says that while he is looking forward to being able to drive to work, he is most excited to use his car to visit his 3-year-old son, who lives more than 3 hours away with his mother.