SALEM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Restaurants across the country are struggling because of the pandemic and to ease people's financial burden, one Salem man has been surprising local restaurant employees with an envelope of cash.
Salem is filled with restaurants and usually they're bustling with business on weekends and during the holidays, however because of the pandemic that's not the case.
Salem resident Scott Sheehan says he got the idea to help when he saw a news report about a woman in Pennsylvania starting a fund to help local restaurant employees.
Sheehan says he started a GoFundMe to try and do the same thing in Salem. He calls the fund the Salem Restaurant Employees New Year's Survival Fund.
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"I wanted to raise a couple hundred bucks probably for some favorite servers or bartenders and it really took off," Sheehan said.
He adds the fund is already up to $7,000 and as a result, Sheehan has been stopping by restaurants around Salem to hand out envelopes filled with money.
He says when people receive the gift their faces light up. "When you give any server or bartender a hundred dollars cash, it puts a smile on their face," said Sheehan.
He adds the fact that the money is unexpected brings joy to those struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic.
Sheehan says he hopes other towns catch on and do the same for their favorite servers and bartenders.
WBZ NewsRadio's Carl Stevens (@carlwbz) reports
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