Ellen DeGeneres Gives Waitress $10,000 For Paying Soldiers’ Tab

Ellen DeGeneres Gives Waitress $10,000 For Paying Soldiers’ Tab

A single mother, who works as a waitress, received a $10,000 check from Ellen DeGeneres recently after she paid for the lunch of two National Guard soldiers while on her afternoon shift. The talk show host told Sarah Hoidahl that she was a good person. Hoidahl has a fifteen-month-old son and lives with her mother in Concord, New Hampshire.

Prior to receiving the check, the Ruby Tuesday waitress recounted her good deed in front of a live audience. She said that she overheard the uniformed women discussing what they will eat for lunch.

The women said that they had to keep it light since they were not getting paid after being furloughed due to the government shutdown. Hoidahl said that she thought it was a really difficult time for the women. She added that she knew the feeling since she is a single mother working as a waitress.

Hoidahl told Ellen DeGeneres that she gave the soldiers a note instead of giving them the check for their meals

She wrote down that the people protecting the country were not getting paid due to the government shutdown but she was still being paid. She also indicated on the note that their lunch was on her and she thanked the soldiers. The charge for the meals was $27.75 and Hoidahl went home with only $8, which was not enough to cover her gas.

The two National Guard soldiers posted the note on Facebook. The talk show host found out about the act of kindness of Hoidahl and invited her to the show. Initially, DeGeneres reimbursed the waitress for the $27.75 bill and gave her a 50-inch television since the television of Hoidahl was broken.

Ellen DeGeneres later wrote out a $10,000 check to Hoidahl near the end of the show.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Sunday October 20 2013, 11:02 PM EST. Ref: LA Times. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0