A poverty stricken elderly woman with no family gave a touching note to staff in a burger restaurant after they gave her free food on Christmas Day.
She said without their kindness, she would have faced “a boring Christmas” by herself.
Mike Jalili, the owner of Black Sheep Burgers and Shakes in Springfield, Missouri has now extended the offer of a free meal to anyone in need on December 25 and is keen to find the woman who left the note.
The handwritten message said: “A very heartfelt thank you for the kindness of you all! It would have been a very boring Christmas for me as I have no family left. I never thought of this years ago, but being the youngest in my family, I have seen everyone leave this Earth before me.”
She detailed her struggles with living on social security payments, which led her to “downsize” to renting a room and sharing a house in Springfield.
The letter continued: “I feel like I’m in college again. A dear friend heard about the offer of the free meal and invited me out for ‘Christmas lunch.’ Great idea since I was down to $1! The meal was wonderful as were the staff. Thank you again for making it a day to remember! Blessings.”
Mr Jalili was so touched by the letter that he’s now on a mission to find the woman and invite her for a belated holiday celebration with his family. He took to Facebook to share his intentions, where regular patrons have lauded his generosity – this being the second Christmas he has offered free burgers to those in need, reports the Mirror.
“We are looking for this lady that sent this letter to downtown Blacksheep, if you know who she is please private message us. I’m wanting to invite her to our house for holidays, this is the reason I’m trying to locate her,” said the business owner, who received the letter three days after the pensioner’s meal. According to their website, Black Sheep boasts four locations across Missouri and their burgers have been ranked as the best in the entire state by TripAdvisor.
Regulars have rallied behind Mr Jalili’s appeal, sharing it widely on social media. One person commented: “This doesn’t surprise me that the owners are trying to include her as family and invite her to their gatherings! They invited my Dad many times when he said our family did not! And he went!.”
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