Single Mom Who Works As A Crossing Guard Gets Huge Surprise Of $50,000
She was overcome with emotion at the life-changing surprise.
TikTok A Detroit traffic cop was surprised with a heartwarming and life-changing Mother's Day gift.
The entire moment leading up to the surprise was captured in a TikTok video by Zachery Dereniowski, a content creator who makes motivational and inspiring videos on his platform. While on the street, Dereniowski approached a traffic cop named Edge and ultimately ended up changing her life.
He surprised the crossing guard with $500 and a trip to a Detroit Tigers game.
In the first part of Dereniowski's video, he walked up to Edge, a single mom working as a crossing guard in Detroit, and offered to give her a jersey for $1 while she was directing traffic. Laughing, she told him that she would love to, but she was busy working.
When Dereniowski asked Edge how long she'd been working as a traffic cop, she informed him that she'd been doing the job for the last six to seven years. "I do it for the people," Edge said while helping families cross the street and wishing them a "Happy Mother's Day."
"Are you a Tigers fan?" Dereniowski asked her, referring to the city's baseball team. As soon as Edge confirmed that she was, he asked what time she would be getting off tonight. Upon hearing that she would be working until late that evening, Dereniowski managed to get permission from Edge's lieutenant to get some time off to watch the Detroit Tigers game that night.
"Are you serious?" Edge asked in disbelief after finding out that her boss had given her the night off to go to the baseball game. When she coyly asked if leaving early would affect her check, Dereniowski surprised the single mom with $500 to make up for it and "celebrate a mom."
"I was just telling my son, 'Son, we're going to have to put it together,'" Edge said as she got emotional talking about having to borrow money from her son because of her financial situation. "And I tell them, we're just going to have to pray. Oh, Thank you, Jesus!"
Following Dereniowski's video, he created a GoFundMe campaign for Edge to raise money for her and her family. In the description of the campaign, he explained that Edge had "recently lost her husband" and had now become the "sole provider for her family."
"Let's all come together and show Edge and her family the power of the internet and bless this family for Mother's Day weekend," he wrote. "100% of the funds raised will go towards paying rent, food bills, and helping her son's with their education."
He surprised Edge with the $50,000 that was raised through the campaign and given by her community.
In a follow-up video, Dereniowski approached Edge again while she was working, but this time, the life-changing surprise was due to the money that had been raised for her GoFundMe campaign.
"I'm going to give you $1 to open this mystery envelope," he told her. When she opened it, Edge read that she was being told to leave work immediately and go with Dereniowski, who had a "big surprise" for her.
After confirming that she had permission to leave from her manager, Edge and Dereniowski headed to another Detroit Tigers game, but this time, she was the main focus. In the video, Edge began tearing up as the announcer on the field said, "The people of Detroit have watched the video and donated an additional $50,000."
Falling to her knees, Edge was overcome with emotion as she yelled out, "Oh god!" while being presented with the large check by her son and Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers.
"God uses wonderful people every day,” Edge told ABC 7 Detroit, explaining that she was at a loss for words. “I didn’t know this man and God used him to be a blessing to me. I couldn’t thank him enough. I couldn’t give God thanks enough.”
Nia Tipton is a Brooklyn-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.