Big Fat Lakeland, Florida Tips:
Honoring Our Home

We recently celebrated our fourth anniversary and were thrilled to pass the $40,000 fundraising mark! This was our 40th drop, and we decided to spread the love by supporting a nonprofit that supports our veterans. We recently learned that civilians are welcome at most VFW posts across the United States. And this VFW is the new location of the Silver Ring Cafe, which had to vacate its home after 35 years when its lease was not renewed.

This was the fourth drop we did on December 20, 2022, to celebrate our 4th anniversary as an official organization. This bartender was so thrilled she donated some of her tip back to us so we could surprise the next person! Big Fat Thanks to George McCorkell for covering the entire cost of this tip and to our volunteer of the day, Kelly Aiken!

This was the third drop out of four we did to celebrate our 4th anniversary of being an official organization. We love their reactions! Big Fat Thanks to our donors highlighted at the end of this video. They made this tip happen. And special thanks to our volunteer of the day, Beth Harvey! #bigfattip #RandomActsofKindness

Our camera-shy recipient asked us to record a second take with one of her colleagues. We preserved both recordings for your viewing pleasure. When recording real people (not actors), we get real responses. And those reactions are not always "TV worthy." Most emotions are felt, not seen. That is why game show producers usually pick overly-enthusiastic audience members and why acting is a job. We know that all recipients have been extremely grateful, and the most reserved ones have mentioned that they still think about the surprise tip they received years later. Big Fat Thanks to our donors, noted at the end of this video. This tip would not have happened without you. Special thanks to Robert Berganza for being our volunteer of the day.

This was the first tip of the day. We celebrated our 4th anniversary by handing out $4,000 in Lakeland, Florida - our hometown. Big thanks to our volunteer, Marissa Beck Dean, and our donors who made this tip happen! The recipient, Stacy, brought tears to our eyes when she talked about her struggles as a single mom trying to hold it all together. We are so proud of how far she has come, and we ware thrilled to be able to bring a little joy to her day.

We have noticed many credit card machines will not accept a tip over a few hundred dollars. That is proof that BIG FAT TIPS ARE RARE. She was touched by the gesture, and we were moved by her reaction. BIG FAT THANKS to our volunteer (and donor) of the day, Jen Saldana. Huge thanks to a special donor who paid for the full $1,000 tip and wanted to remain anonymous for this drop. We were so thrilled to be able to make their day today! #bigfattip

HAPPY NEW YEAR! The Big Fat Tip gave our 31st surprise $1,000 to the lovely people at Mister Fish, an old Lakeland establishment. They were thrilled! BIG FAT THANKS to Chris Price, co-owner of Dissent Craft Brewing Company, who paid for this $1,000 tip in full. He and his wife wanted to pay it forward after we dropped one in his new bar in Lakeland to celebrate our 3rd anniversary on December 20th. (Check out that video - number 28) Huge thanks to Sheila Reid, our volunteer (and donor) of the day, who assisted us in handing over this tip. #bigfattip

THE BIG FAT TIP #30 on the 30th! The bartender was completely taken aback - so bashful. Aww. BIG FAT THANKS to our donors who made this tip possible by donating directly on our website at https://bigfattip.org/donate/. And Big Thanks to our volunteer and donor, Ruby Hypes, who helped to spread a little sunshine at the end of the year. #bigfattip

This tip was the third $1,000 surprise tip we dropped to commemorate our third anniversary - officially making strangers' days through these large gratuities. He couldn't believe it! Alosh told us later that he shared it with his team. He posted a video on his YouTube Channel showing them celebrating at the end of their shift. Check out Walkaround with Alosh: https://www.youtube.com/c/WALKAROUNDwithAlosh BIG FAT THANKS to Mark Dorsey, who donated a total of $1,000 to make this tip possible. #bigfattip

We LOVED his reaction! Michael was so excited to give this tip to his employees. Even better...the co-owner of Dissent Craft Brewing Company paid it forward by donating a full $1,000 tip for us to give to someone else later. Check out Number 31 for their reaction! It made the news, too! The BIG FAT TIP celebrated its 3rd anniversary by handing out three surprise $1,000 tips in our hometown on December 20, 2021. This tip was #2 out of those three - and number 28 overall! BIG FAT THANKS to Val Gordon and Eric Vaden, who donated during GIVING TUESDAY to make this tip possible! And huge thanks to our volunteer (and donor) of the day, Brandy Swecker, who helped make this brew master's day! #bigfattip