Happy Fist Bumper: Community Raising Funds for Tim Hortons Worker

January 8, 2021 ESG, Financial Inclusion, Sustainable Finance, FinTech and Alternative Finance, Fintech Services, Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Online Funding / Investing Campaigns, Personal Finance, Stories No comments

CTV News | Katherine DeClerq | Jan 6, 2021

TORONTO -- An Ontario Tim Hortons worker set to receive a large payout thanks to a community crowdfunding effort says he plans on sharing some of the funds with his teammates and donating some to others in need.

Hundreds of people have contributed to a GoFundMe campaign set up in honour of a drive-thru window operator named Vishnugopan (Vishnu) Sothilingam, who works at a Tim Horton’s near Bathurst Street and Rutherford Road in Vaughan, Ont.

“If you’re having a crummy day, just go and get a cup of coffee from him and he’ll make you smile” Matthew Shulman, the creator of the campaign, told CTV News Toronto.

“He just makes everybody feel happy and it just shows that there are good people out there who go above and beyond.”

Sothilingam’s positive attitude, silly jokes and fist bumps captured the attention of numerous regular Tim Hortons customers, including Shulman, who decided to create the crowdfunding campaign after hearing that Sothilingam supported his family and had to leave school for financial reasons.

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The goal for the GoFundMe page was originally set at $10,000, but as of Wednesday more than $21,000 has been raised. Shulman told CTV News Toronto that he posted the website to a community group and quickly about $8,000 in donations poured in.

After that, Shulman said, media reports gave it a bit more exposure.

“All of a sudden, we were getting donations from all over the world,” he said

Sothilingam, who has worked at Tim Hortons for more than 10 years—or most of his life as he put it—told CTV News Toronto that he was shocked to hear of the community fundraising efforts.

“Honestly, I just do my job,” he said. “I'm pleased and happy to see them every morning and they give me a great vibe and I try to keep that energy back to them.”

“A smile doesn’t cost. It’s pretty free.”

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