A single mother of three who went viral for working solo at a Burger King restaurant after her coworker quit has started a GoFundMe.
This month, a TikTok video of Nykia Hamilton working alone at a Burger King in Columbia, South Carolina, got people talking. In the video, which has more than 134,000 views, she is seen juggling numerous duties at the fast food restaurant, as she prepares meals, cleans, and rings up customers all alone.
Many people have since commended Hamilton for her hard work and dedication, adding that it wouldn’t be out of place for her to have a “raise”.
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Hamilton has now been encouraged to start a GoFundMe page, where she describes herself as a 25-year-old single mother of three children working two jobs to support her family.
“I just went viral for working on TikTok. If you wanna contribute, it’s ok. Thank y’all for the support,” she wrote. “I wasn’t expecting my life to change how it did. I really do everything for my kids.”
“I be missing out on my kids’ lives and I work a lot,” she said during an interview with WACH outside of the Burger King restaurant, with tears in her eyes. “I have to provide for them, but I really don’t have time to spend with them—and it hurts me a lot.”
Hamilton said she usually works 12 hours a day alone at the fast food restaurant, handling several roles including preparing the food and cleaning.
“One of my employees just quit on me, and they didn’t have anyone else to come in, so I had to work by myself, and close by myself,” she explained. “Had to do the dishes, do prep, do the floor, do the front counter, drive-thru.”
At the time of writing, her GoFundMe has raised $35,000 out of its $40,000 goal.
Hamilton also got a co-worker on the day of the WACH interview on July 9. “[My co-worker] has been here since 11 o’clock and will stay until close at 11,” she said. “We just don’t have any employees. Nobody wants to work anymore.”
Hamilton, amid the stress, is still thankful to her manager for giving her this job.
“I wouldn’t have no job because I do have a record, and it is hard to find a job with a record. And by grace of God, she gave me a job,” she said about her manager. “So that’s the only reason why I stayed for her.”
Burger King released a statement about Hamilton’s situation to WACH, stating: “At Burger King, it is our policy that all company and franchise-owned restaurants require more than one Team Member to be working per shift. We are working with the Franchisee of this location to understand what happened and take any necessary action.”
