#20. Not Just a Regular Day
Young Evoni Williams is only 18 years old, and she had been working at the Waffle House in La Marque, Texas for a while. As she clocked into the job that morning, she had no idea her day wouldn’t go according to plan.
You see, a customer named Laura Wolf was sitting at a table, when she noticed Evoni. The waitress seemed to do something strange at the counter, so Laura took out her phone and began snapping some photos. What was Evoni doing?
#19. A Regular at the Waffle house
Laura was used to go to the Waffle House every morning for her coffee. She knew the young waitress, but hadn’t noticed anything weird so far. As Laura was sipping her coffee, she nearly chocked! Evoni surprised her, so Laura knew she had to immortalize this moment!
It was packed with customers and Evoni was trying to keep up with the chores. It was that morning when fate stepped in and Evoni’s life would be transformed for good. And Laura was there to witness it all…
#18. A Young Waitress
At only 18 years old, Evoni was working to save money for college. She had been doing it for years and hoped that with some more hard working, she would finally be able to study business management and finally afford to complete her dream of having her own restaurant.
With this motivation in mind, every day was helping her get closer to her goal. Evoni knew that her hard work would be repaid, but had no idea that her actions would help her achieve her dream even faster!
#17. Customers Arrive
At 10 o’clock, in the middle of the morning rush, an old man walks into the restaurant and looks for a table. Slowly walking towards the spare table, the man carried an oxygen tank with him. He looked frail and tired…
The staff at the Waffle House knew the man, whose name was Adrien Charpentier. He was a regular at the restaurant, but lately, he’s been through a rough cold. Evoni spotted him and hurried to take his order.
#16. Taking His Order
As Laura was sitting away from Mr. Charpentier, she was sipping her coffee and that’s when her attention focused on Evoni and the old man. Laura didn’t know that Mr. Charpentier was popular among the servers. She saw him order his food and that’s when it happened!
Evoni was at Mr. Charpentier’s table, taking his order. It was as usual, bacon, eggs, and toast. She went to pick a few more orders and rushed to the kitchen to deliver those that were already cooked. Then, as she returned to Mr. Charpentier’s table, Laura saw it all…
#15. Cooks Shouted at Evoni
From afar, Laura saw heard the cooks shouting to Evoni about orders being finished. However, the young waitress remained at Mr. Charpentier’s table. Laura couldn’t see what was happening, but knew something was off.
Trying to understand what was happening, Laura decided to take out her phone and snap some photos just in case something would happen. Neither she nor Evoni thought these photos would become viral overnight!
#14. Is There Something Wrong?
As Evoni reached Mr. Charpentier’s table, she waited for a moment to see if everything was alright. Then, she went to the kitchen to pick up some more orders. As she turned around, she saw Mr. Charpentier wasn’t touching for food. Was there something wrong?
Evoni approached to ask Mr. Charpentier if there was something wrong with his food. Was he not enjoying the food? Was he feeling well? Soon enough, Evoni’s actions would impress an entire world!
#13. He Couldn’t Eat
Mr. Charpentier explained to Evoni that he had pneumonia, and considering his age and the troubles breathing, he was struggling to eat on his own. Evoni didn’t need more explanations and knew what to do.
The young waitress knew she had a ton of other customers to serve, but Mr. Charpentier was in need of some help and he was a priority in that restaurant. Without thinking about it, Evoni dragged the old man’s plate in front of her…
#12. Laura Was Stunned
You can imagine that as a witness to what was happening, from afar, Laura was confused. What was the waitress doing? Why was she taking back the old man’s plate? Soon enough, she’d get her answers!
This story wouldn’t have been possible without the next photo. You see, Laura was sure this moment would be memorable, but had no idea that it would make headlines all around the state. And that’s just the beginning of it!
#11. A Waiter’s Job
What Evoni was doing to Mr. Charpentier’s food was something we don’t see every day. Waiters and waitresses are supposed to pick up the orders, bring them to the table, bring the bill and assist customers with the menu. What Evoni did was more than that!
Seeing Mr. Charpentier was struggling with his food, Evoni took a knife and a fork and reached for his plate. While Laura saw only a little of what Evoni was doing, she did caught the waitress in the act!
#10. Helping Out the Customer
Cooks shouted from the kitchen that orders were finished, not knowing what took Evoni so long to get them. Meanwhile, Laura nearly fell off her chair when she realized what Evoni was doing! The young waitress didn’t pay attention to anything around her.
Evoni was focused on Mr. Charpentier’s food, as she was cutting it in small pieces for the man to finally eat his breakfast. Her kind gesture would soon be repaid not tenfold, but thousand fold!
#9. Smiling at Him
Evoni smiled at Mr. Charpentier as she pushed the plate with the food portioned in small bites. He picked up the fork and she smiled at him before she hurried back to her chores. People at other tables noticed she was being late but realized what kept her from waiting on them.
Impressed to tears, Laura decided this photo should be shared with the entire world, so she posted it on Facebook, writing: “Without hesitation, she took his plate and began cutting up his ham. This may seem small but to him, I’m sure it was huge.”
#8. An Act of Kindness
“I’m thankful to have seen this act of kindness and caring at the start of my day while everything in this world seems so negative,” concluded Laura in her Facebook post. Believe it or not, but this photograph would change Evoni’s life forever!
The photo was shared almost 50,000 times and got nearly 100,000 likes. Meanwhile, Evoni had no idea she was famous until she got tagged in that photo. The next day, Evoni would become a celebrity!
#7. Evoni Had No Idea What Would Soon Happen
Not knowing her kind gesture was caught on camera, Evoni began her next day unaware that she would be surprised by the Mayor of La Marque, Bobby Hocking! He got inside the Waffle House that morning to look for Evoni!
Right before that moment, Evoni learned she had became a town sensation. Her act of kindness traveled around the world and as she was trying to cope with this new information, she spotted the Mayor coming towards her…
#6. Evoni Deserved Recognition
Evoni’s selfless act wasn’t going to go unnoticed. In an interview, Bobby Hocking said that "there is a lot of love in La Marque, Texas, and we intend to perpetuate that." This is why he met Evoni at the counter and told her why he was there.
He gave Evoni a certificate through which he declared March 8 to be ‘Evoni Williams Day,’ a day of kindness that would be celebrated by the entire town every year! But that was only the beginning!
#5. Setting a Crowdfunding Page
Townspeople and other people from all over the world told Evoni to begin a crowdfuning project so they could fund her tuition fees. She set the target to $16,000 and hoped for the best. Evoni couldn’t believe what strangers were able to do for her, but the good things were just getting started…
You see, the Mayor had one more ace up his sleeve. He had contacted the Texas Southern University, which had sent a representative with a huge gift!
#4. A Dream Come True
Evoni’s dream came true as she was presented with a $16,000 check from the Texas Southern University - it was the scholarship that would put Evoni through college and help her accomplish her lifelong dream!
That’s when Evoni and Mr. Charpentier were interviewed, and each had a few words to say about that experience. You can imagine the old man was happy that he was part of this…
#3. Tough Times
Mr. Charpentier was quite famous around town, as he was known under the nickname of Mr. Karaoke. He loved singing but for the past five weeks, he had the flu which then turned into pneumonia. Now he couldn’t eat on his own: "I can hold a fork fine and dandy -- but to cut it looks like I'm going to stab somebody."
This is why Evoni stopped by to cut his food, she recalls in the interview: "I was just like, 'Sure! If you need help, that's what I am here for.' My cook was calling my name to pick up food I had on the board, but I continued to cut his ham. It’s just something I would do for anybody.”
#2. It Means a Lot
Mr. Adrien Charpentier admitted that Evoni’s gesture meant a lot for him. The fact she went an extra mile for a customer in need shows how kind Evoni is. She is a reminder that a little can go a long way!
"It means a lot. I need help and the waitresses issue it to me," said the old man. Evoni’s story might be little, but it is this little story of kindness that reminds us the things that really matter.
#1. A Kind Young Woman
Although struggling every day to earn money to be able to afford college tuition, Evoni is proof that people in worse situation do not forget to be kind to others. Finding patience and kindness in such a stressful circumstance is challenging enough.
Nonetheless, Evoni found the strength to overcome these challenges with the love and kindness she shared around her. She had no idea that one day her service would reward her with more than Mr. Charpentier’s gratitude!