Waitress' Kindness Inspires Scholarship, Worldwide Response
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FORT WORTH (CBS11) - It was a simple act of kindness felt around the world.
Kayla Lane, a waitress at Fort Worth's West Side Café, wanted to do something nice for her customers after learning their 9-week-old daughter, Glory, had died in her sleep.
So, she paid for their meal and, instead of a bill, handed Shaun and Debbie Riddle a personal note.
"I was hoping they could see there's kindness still," she said.
As soon as CBS11 aired the initial story, it began to spread.
Strangers wrote Lane heartfelt letters.
"Kayla, Thank you for your kind gesture…" wrote an 81-year-old woman who'd lost her daughter.
"People like you make this world a better place," wrote a man mourning his wife of 42 years.
Even more messages appeared on the West Side Café's Facebook page, as foreign newspapers reposted the report.
"We need more and more people like Kayla in the world," wrote a man from India.
"I love all of you," added a woman in China.
Debbie Riddle said the response has helped give her daughter's life meaning.
"It helps me get through the day sometimes, just knowing there are other people out there who know her name," she said.
Riddle and her husband were looking for a way to return the favor, when she came across one of her daughter's outfits.
"Kisses, 25 cents, I'm saving for my college fund," it reads.
"It just really brought me to tears one day, and I thought, I'm never going to be able to do that for her," said Riddle. "If I can't do it for her, then I can do it in memory of her."
The Riddles have now launched the Glory Riddle Scholarship Fund, in honor of their daughter.
The couple says they want to help servers at the West Side Café, like Kayla, who often pick up strangers tabs.
The Riddles say the money will go toward those who are putting themselves through school to become teachers, medical professionals.
"And who are going to go on to touch so many lives," said Riddle.
She may not get to see her own daughter thrive, but she hopes others will, in her name.
To donate to the Glory Riddle Memorial Scholarship, click HERE.
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