When Bethany started her New Year's shift at IHOP, she had no idea that a viral movement - and a surprise celebrity customer - was about to change her life, and the lives of many others, for the better.
Just Another Holiday (At Work)
Tucking into a delicious pancake breakfast at the nearest IHOP is one New Year's tradition that many Americans share. But at a particular IHOP in St. Charles, Illinois, one woman's life was about to change.
Bethany Provencher was one of the few people at this IHOP who was not feasting on pancakes and syrup. It was January 1st, and as a single mother who had just recently moved to Illinois from Florida, she had to spend her holiday waitressing. And she had no idea what the day had in store for her.
A Fresh Start
As we mentioned, Bethany was a single mother with an 11-year old boy at home. The two had just moved states, ready to start a new life in Illinois. She had secured an apartment, but the cost of it had left her with no choice but to find a job ASAP to support herself and her son.
The deposit for Provencher's new home was hefty enough that she had no money left, not even to furnish the apartment. The place was bare while she tried to get some savings together. "I have absolutely nothing to move in with," she later said in an interview with ABC News. "Like not a dish… nothing."
Trying to Keep Positive
The new move and new living circumstances had been hard on the little family, but Bethany remained positive in the face of difficulty. "Good things can only come," she told ABC reporters with a smile. "Blessings all around. I pray every day, so I know we're gonna be good."
It was this shining sense of optimism that carried her through the world, even when she was struggling. After all, it was up to her to sustain her family and provide a better future for her son. It was difficult much of the time… but it was about to get a little easier.
A Mystery Diner
So Bethany went about her waitressing shift at the IHOP, while the families and groups of friends around her enjoyed the holiday atmosphere. That is until she heard hushed whispers spread through the restaurant. When she turned to look, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Or should we say, who she was seeing. Because at the entrance to the restaurant, a famous celebrity had just walked in with his wife and kids, and Bethany recognized him right away. "I freaked out and called my mother in the bathroom!" she exclaimed.
A Big Fan
The man who had walked into the IHOP and captured everyone's attention wasn't just any famous person - he was one of Bethany's favorite celebrities, someone she'd been a huge fan of for years. It was looking to be one of the most exciting shifts she'd worked in her career as a waitress.
She told ABC News about the huge impact the entertainer had had on her. "My mother sat in line for three or four hours for tickets to go see him for me when I was a kid," Bethany shared. "I went to two of his concerts, and he looked at me twice." But what was she going to say when it was time to wait at his table?
Play it Cool
How would any of us react if we were standing in the vicinity of one of our favorite celebrities? It's hard to say. But instead of making a beeline for his table, Bethany approached her shift manager, Gabriella Rivera, to tell her what had happened.
"[Bethany] actually is the one who brought it up to my attention," Rivera told ABC News. "And I told her, I was like, 'Okay, that's awesome. Let's take a breath.'" The last thing she wanted was to cause any commotion at the restaurant. But she saw how excited Bethany was, and made a choice that would change the waitress's life.
Opportunity of a Lifetime
It was obvious to anyone who could see Bethany that she was beyond ecstatic to see one of her favorite celebrities in the flesh. It resonated with Gabriella, who decided to give the new waitress the opportunity of a lifetime. She told her that she was going to be the staff member who served them.
It was more than Bethany had expected. She was being given the opportunity to meet and chat with one of her idols, during what had started out as a mundane New Years' shift. But how was she going to approach it? Did she want to confess her fandom immediately, or be as casual as possible?
Shooting Her Shot
Bethany glanced over at table #19, still anxious about how to approach the happy family. At the end of the day she had a job to do, and besides, was she really going to waste such a thrilling opportunity by being indecisive? She shook herself off and walked to the table.
She began to take the orders for the celebrity, his wife, and his four children. She focused hard on maintaining her composure and serving the group without doing anything too impulsive. In fact, she was so composed while serving that she made a resounding impression on her idol.
Better Than She Hoped
Despite not confessing how much she loved his work, Bethany was still over the moon at the interaction. What had started off as a completely normal day at her new job had turned into something far more exciting. How many people get to meet their favorite celebrity on a New Years' shift?
And not just meet them, but do something nice for them and be earning money while doing it! Despite the struggles she had faced during her recent move to Illinois, this situation had provided a much-needed silver lining. She thought there was no way her day could get any better. Boy, was she wrong.
A Bizzare Goodbye
But as Bethany was busy reveling in the experience, the famous customer and his family finished their pancakes and were preparing to leave. As she took his card and moved to process the transaction, the celebrity stopped her suddenly and motioned her to the side.
What was going on? The bewildered waitress followed his lead as he spoke to her. "He gave me the receipt, and he folded it up, and he told me to put it in my pocket and wait until he left to open it," she said. Her heart was beating fast as she thought of his words and the receipt folded up in her pocket.
An Unrivaled Tip?
So as the celebrity and his family walked out the door, Bethany did exactly as he asked. "[I] did just that," she told ABC News. She waited until he was well away from the building before taking it out of her pocket and opening it. "When I opened it, I freaked out," she said. Her hero had given her far more than she expected!
On the receipt was a short hand-written note from the man, along with a significantly higher tip for a bill that was less than $80. "Thanks, Bethany. Happy New Year. 2020 Tip Challenge," it said. As it turned out, the famous customer had chosen to take part in a viral challenge, and Bethany was the lucky recipient. But you're probably wondering - who was this as yet unnamed celebrity?
A Well-Known Wahlberg
The man who had used a viral challenge to perform a great act of kindness was the actor and former singer/rapper Donnie Wahlberg. Back at the beginning of his career he had risen to fame in the boy band New Kids On The Block, and had gone on to see further success in the film industry.
Through acting in blockbuster hits like The Sixth Sense and Saw, Donnie made a name for himself as a multi-faceted performer. He was also part of the famous Wahlberg family and had performed alongside his mega-famous brother, Mark. His wife, who had been eating at IHOP with him, also had her own share of the spotlight.
Jenny McCarthy
Donnie Wahlberg had married Jenny McCarthy seven years earlier, and the two were quite the Hollywood power couple. Jenny had made a name for herself years earlier, first as a Playboy model, before going on to find mainstream success in film and television.
And over the years she had found many opportunities to branch out in the industry, even in the world of reality TV. She enjoyed a brief stint co-hosting The View and was even a judge on the wildly popular show The Masked Singer. And she and her husband were both keen on the idea of taking part in the tipping challenge.
What Is the Tip Challenge?
So why had Donnie been so compelled to share such a huge tip? Well, it was all part of a new challenge that went viral on social media and had captured his attention. The challenge called for people with financial means to tip $2,020 to a service worker that they felt deserved it, as a gift for the new year (2020, get it?).
The truth was that even a $20.20 tip for an $80 meal (which is how much the Wahlberg's spent), would have been a big tip. For most restaurant wait staff, receiving 100 times that amount would have been unimaginable. And for Bethany, the sum was literally life-changing.
A Furnished Home
Donnie Wahlberg didn’t know it yet, but his generous tip was exactly what Bethany needed during that trying period of her life. The move from Florida to Illinois had drained her bank account so that she and her son essentially had nothing. In the space of a moment, that had all changed.
"Now I can have a fully furnished place," the overjoyed woman told ABC. After ending her shift, it meant she could go straight to her local department stores and buy the basic furniture that she and her son needed to start their new life. It felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
The Meaning of the Trend
There's no denying that a $2,000 bump in Bethany's weekly pay was a welcome gift, if completely unexpected. But it wasn't just the money that had stunned the waitress - it was also the generosity behind it. The fact that someone had taken it upon themselves to present such a gift to a stranger was heartwarming.
And that someone wasn't just anyone - it was one of Bethany's idols! Not only had she met her favorite celebrity at her workplace, but he turned out to be as kind as he was talented, using a viral challenge to legitimately help someone on a public holiday. But who was behind the viral challenge?
Where It All Began
As it turned out, Donnie Wahlberg and Jenny McCarthy definitely weren't the first to try the Tip Challenge. The person who had brought their attention to the challenge was a woman named Danielle Franzoni, whose life had been changed in a similar way to Bethany's.
At that point in her life, Danielle had been living in a shelter in Alpena, Michigan, while she waited tables at Thunder Bay River restaurant. It was at this restaurant that she received the $2,020 that changed everything. She shared her story, and Donnie was so touched that he knew he wanted to try it himself.
A Rough Start
Danielle's day had begun on a strange and difficult note, she shared with CNN. She had been awoken at 4 am by a neighbor who was having difficulties, and she did her best to help before her shift started. "I came to work, like, super emotional," she told the interviewer.
With a morning like that, she knew it was going to be a long day. But regardless, she started her shift with a smile on her face, careful not to let her mood affect service. Two of her usual customers had come in for breakfast, and she served them cheerily. And when they got up to leave, Danielle got the shock of her life.
Left Speechless
That difficult morning was just another in a series of struggles for Danielle Franzoni. She was a single mother of three, with a fourth child on the way. She struggled day in and day out to make ends meet for her family. Needless to say, receiving $2,020 out of the blue was enough to send her to her knees.
When she saw what was in the folded receipt Danielle was overcome with emotion. "I cried. I started crying and went right to my manager and asked him if it was real.," she said. And sure enough, they had written a little follow-up note for her. "They wrote on the receipt, 'Happy New Year Danielle. 2020 Tip Challenge.'"
A Hard Life
What were Danielle's first thoughts about the kind act? "That doesn't happen to people like me," she told CNN. "Why do you say that Danielle?" one reporter asked. "I'm [in recovery]. I'm a Detroit native, born and raised. I moved up here to Alpena to start over and to get sober," she shared.
Her life so far had been far from an easy one, and she had gotten used to being down on her luck. In Danielle's eyes, amazing things like this weren't meant for someone like her. She really believed she hadn't deserved it, and the reasons for that lay in her past.
A Blank Slate
Two years before she became the unwitting recipient of the 2020 Tip Challenge, Danielle had gotten clean and sober after years of addiction. Life as she knew it had ended, and it was time to start anew. Similar to Bethany Provencher and her son, she and her kids moved from Detroit to Alpena.
While moving out of the city had been a good idea, it didn't change the fact that Franzoni and her three children had very little to live on. She couldn't afford to rent a house or apartment. Their only option was a shelter that provided free accommodation for struggling families, and Danielle took it.
Life Looked Different
It wasn't ideal, but Danielle and her kids now had a roof over their heads. She then secured a waitressing job, even though she didn't "make great money" from it. But now the two customers had changed everything for her. "I'm gonna build a future because of this. My kids have a future and I have a home," she said.
It was hard for Danielle to properly express how much the $2,020 tip meant for her and her family. "I moved into my own house today. Like, that was able to happen, and I did that today. They gave my kids a life that they didn't even know that they didn't have," the emotional waitress shared.
Lifting People Up
Both Danielle, Bethany, and their families were living proof of how much impact a good deed like the Tip Challenge could have on people. "It's a blessing," Franzoni said when asked about her opinion of the viral movement. "I'm trying to bring my kids home. I'm trying to, you know, do right. And now I have a chance."
It truly meant everything to the struggling mother of three (and soon to be four). The Franzoni family didn't have to rely on the shelter anymore, and the $2k tip had eased her financial strain enough that even being mindful of her recovery goals was much easier. But how was the Tip Challenge being used elsewhere?
Upping the Ante
Let’s quickly recap: the 2020 Tip Challenge was started as a way of encouraging people to tip their servers generously, in the spirit of the new year. In particular, participants were meant to tip any number between $20.20, and $2,020. But some had taken the challenge even further.
As it turned out, some participants had started leaving tips as high as $5,000! Though it did forgo the 2020/$2,020 format, it was an even bigger boost to the generosity of the challenge, as wait staff and servers across the country were bowled away by such an incredible act.
Back to the Wahlbergs
But what about the celebrity who started this story? Donnie Wahlberg didn't just randomly appear at the IHOP in St. Charles. He was there for a reason - he had just opened a burger restaurant in the Illinois town and was visiting it with his family. But why a burger joint?
Well, the restaurant was actually a family affair. Donnie, his A-lister brother Mark, and their other brother Paul, a chef, had opened a burger chain called Wahlburgers, and their most recent offering was built in St. Charles. The day they planned that restaurant had been a lucky day for Bethany Provencher.
Other Celebs Joined
Donnie had been inspired by the spirit of goodwill and generosity that the Tip Challenge promoted. And since he had been a mainstay of Hollywood for so long, he knew plenty of wealthy celebrities. Would any of them be interested in jumping on the bandwagon?
Some definitely were! Blue Bloods' star Tom Selleck had heard about Wahlberg's kind gesture in St. Charles and took it upon himself to do the same. He even wrote a note on the lucky server's receipt that said "I am honoring my [friend's] 'Tip Challenge' with my sincere hope for a better 2020," according to People magazine.
Proud to Be a Part
Donnie couldn't be happier when he heard the news of his co-star's generous act. "I found out that my TV Dad has generously accepted the 2020 Tip Challenge at Elios Upper Eastside!" he wrote in a social media post. "I didn't start it but I'm proud to be part of it."
He went on to shout out all other participants in the challenge and sent words of encouragement to his followers. "To those who gave even the smallest extra amount this year - THANK YOU. Spread love and love will spread." And for people like Bethany and Danielle, those words couldn't be more true.
Spreading the Love
It might seem like a one-off event, but Wahlberg and Selleck were helping to boost a heartwarming movement, as well as showing other celebrities how they can use their platforms to reach out and help others. And it was true - the 2020 Tip Challenge was spreading.
"There's still good people in the world," Selena Ryan, another recipient of the 2020 tip, told CBS Chicago. She had been given her tip while working at the Dakota Inn and was overwhelmed by the kind act. "It was such a blessing what they did for me and what they're still doing today," she said.
More Than Just a Hashtag
But the money that people were sharing was not the only blessing involved in this story. Of course the lump sum tips these servers were given had a resoundingly positive impact on their lives. But so did the message behind the Tip Challenge. And just what was the message?
Megan Oeser, who had been motivated to fundraise for the 2020 Tip Challenge, told ABC News what she believed the viral movement was all about. "Whether it's $2 or $200, they say each donation is about more than a hashtag or a challenge. They are reminders that even in a tough year, a tough time, people care," she said.
A Beautiful Message
And this message couldn't be any clearer to people like Bethany Provencher, Danielle Franzoni, and their children. Thanks to the unexpected viral campaign, they entered 2020 in high hopes and higher spirits. There was no denying how much the 2020 Tip Challenge had helped.
And it served as a wonderful lesson for them, and the readers, listeners, and viewers around the world who heard about their stories. Even in the toughest times, there are people - sometimes even strangers - who are more than willing to lend a helping hand.