Server in the Warrensville Heights Restaurant received 2,000 US dollars tip

Warrensville Heights, Ohio – when Shaundretta Boykins and her husband spent 33 anxious days to visit their newly adopted son in the intensive care unit, a friendly server made the difference. Night after night, exhausted from work and hospital visits, they stopped in a local restaurant in which a waitress seemed to anticipate her needs before even talking.

“There was a sweet waitress who took care of us,” recalls Shaundretta. “Almost as she knew that we would come. She would be at the door, she would greet us that she would give up our order before she put us and then she would sit us.”

This experience has planted a seed that would grow to something much larger.

After bringing her son home, Shaundretta felt called to pay the friendliness she had received. She organized a girl's night with a purpose: every friend brought a 100 dollar bill, paid for her food and left the rest as a tip.

“Twenty of two of my friends came with me,” explains Shaundretta. “We were able to bless this waiter with a tip of 2,065 US dollars.”

What started as a unique gesture has developed into a movement that spreads in Ohio. Without formal names or organization – only a deep belief in the power of giving – Shaundretta has continued to organize these special food events.

This January the movement came to Frederick's wine and Dine in Warrensville Heights, where server Stlysha “LYY” White was selected to get the blessing.

The restaurant owner Frederick Parks explains why they selected them: “Her struggle in life, various things she does … she is just a great young lady. I know that she had some struggles financially, but her attitude is always positive.”

Lyly, a single mother of two days a week, was exposed to the evacuation when she received the surprising tip of 2,000 US dollars -$ 1,500 from Shaundrettas Group and an additional 500 US dollar from Frederick itself.

“I expressed you that day when I went out to come here, I had the evacuation announcement,” said Lyly during a follow-up meeting with Shaundretta. “Now I'm in a position where I can continue my search and my appearance and I don't have to go to sleep with my two children in my mother's living room on her couch.”

What makes this story even more powerful is how it expands further. Since this first tip in 2021, Shaundretta has organized six similar events all over Ohio:

• Second event: A $ 1,500 tip for another single mother of two children
• Third event: A tip in the amount of $ 1,900 divided between three small employees
• Fourth event: A tip of $ $ 2.225 for a single mother of two children, which also contained four paid college courses, books and school material in Columbus State for autumn 2025
• Fifth event: The 2,000 dollar tip to Lyly in Cleveland
• Sixth event: A tip of $ 1,025 for a server in Toledo only last weekend

The swing builds. This Saturday, March 1st, the movement in Youngstown will continue, followed by another event in Cleveland on March 15.

For Shaundretta, this movement is more than money. “I want to inspire people to serve,” she says. “I have the heart of a servant. My grandmother had it. And that's why I lived this life of service all my life.”

Her father Dian sees this spirit clearly: “She gives from her heart. And that's exactly what it is about. That is humanity of us – is to do something unconditionally for someone.”

The influence extends beyond the immediate recipients. After LYY has received her blessing, he is determined to continue the friendly cycle in her own way.

“I try to ensure that I help everyone,” she says. “Even if someone is on the side of the highway, if I have an additional dollar, I give you this additional dollar. You can honestly change the life of a person with the smallest act of friendliness.”

Frederick Park and his team also follow the movement. Inspired by what you have seen, he and twenty other men are now planning their own initiative for pay-it-forward.

Shaundretta has deliberately not named this friendly movement. She believes that the focus should be on giving herself, not on who is behind it. She just wants to inspire others to search for ways to bless people around them.

“It spreads, just as I prayed it,” says Shaundretta with a smile.

A moment of kindness. Life changed forever. And a community recalled what is really important.

Do you have a story idea for hearts? E -Mail to: Heartstrings@wkyc.com.