Big Fat Tip pays generosity forward for service industry workers

LAKELAND, Fla. - Last Friday seemed like just another day for Cathy Mayfield. Her morning was routine, serving breakfast and coffee at The Egg Station in South Lakeland.

Then came a surprise. When she handed over the bill at table three, for $16.43, a gentleman at the table asked her to check his math. What she saw left her nearly speechless. She was given a $1,000 tip, thanks to a new non-profit called Big Fat Tip.

"I was just in shock," she told FOX 13. "'Are you kidding? This has to be a joke.' But it was real."

It’s founder, Deedre Daniel, who now lives in Lakeland, waited tables in Tallahassee years ago. After that experience, she made a commitment that if she was ever in a position to help other servers, she would. 

“You are really at the mercy of the generosity of the people that you encounter that day, and a lot of that is pure fate,” Daniel said.

She thought if she was ever in a position to help out servers with a once-in-a-lifetime tip, she would.

Daniel says it is a thrill every time she does it.

“It is so exciting to give away this money,” Daniel told FOX 13. “I almost wonder if it is more exciting for the people who give the money than actually receiving it.”

She has given out 11 $1,000 tips in the last year, in Polk County and beyond.

Since her pockets are not that deep, she formed the Big Fat Tip, which accepts donations of any size. When the kitty reaches $1,000, she looks for a new, randomly-chosen recipient.

Frequently, she will take along a donor, who may have contributed $25 bucks or less, so they can experience the thrill of handing over a whopper of a check.

Mayfield said she can certainly use the money. She has two kids, one in college who is studying to become a minister.

But she says, “The kindness to me is more than the money. To know kindness is still out there, it shows you that there is still good in the world.”

For more information about the Big Fat Tip, visit https://bigfattip.org/.