- Alright, we are back and in light of the ongoing surg
we've decided not to have a studio audience today.
If there's one thing, though,
that the last two years has taught us
it's that we owe our essential workers major gratitude.
Grocery clerks, delivery drivers and fast food employees
all keep this country running,
especially in times like this.
And so many more that we didn't even just mention.
And with so many out sick,
many of those people are working double and triple shifts.
It's one thing to say thank you,
but it's another to show it.
And showing thanks is what this next story is all about.
Our next guest works at a Dunkin' Donuts near Cincinnati,
and amid the pandemic she's faced unthinkable adversity,
but she's gotten through
thanks to one of her loyal customers,
someone we call a good neighbor.
♪ Good, good, so good ♪
♪ Good neighbor ♪
♪ So good, so good ♪
It's my favorite (chuckles).
Please welcome Ebony and Suzanne, everybody.
(Kelly claps)
Hi y'all.
- Hello, how are y'all, absolutely.
- Hello. Happy new year.
We love that you're joining us.
And Ebony. - Same for you.
Happy new year, yes. - Thank you.
- You'll be getting it.
- I know, we need it.
Well, Ebony, I'm gonna start with you.
You say, since the pandemic,
everything has gotten tougher for you, right?
- Yes. Ma'am. I'm a single mom of three kids.
My oldest son is 15, my second son is seven
and my lovely daughter is five.
And ever since the pandemic it's a struggle.
It's hard, I have bills piled up
due to me not working like that, transportation.
- And Suzanne you've been going to that Dunkin' Donuts
that she works at as long as Ebony has worked there, right?
- I think so.
I go every morning. - Yes, three years.
- And I always get Ebony working
and she has just such an energetic reading.
She introduces herself every morning with,
"Welcome to my Dunkin'.
This is Ebony, how may I help you?"
And you can just tell she loves her job and she wants you,
she wants to make you feel good
coming through the drive-through
and to get your day started off great
and she does that.
- You know what?
It literally, it's the small things Ebony,
but I'm telling you, like, it's a huge thing.
Like if there is a difference and I guess,
'cause I'm from a small town,
that small town mentality
of really like knowing your customers and knowing,
and I also have been in the service industry.
It's like knowing that goes a long way.
It makes people feel good.
It could turn out around someone's day,
it makes you feel better.
It's such a blessing Ebony.
And Suzanne, something happened early last year
that brought your lives together.
So what was it? Tell everybody.
- So in March or so I noticed that when I was coming through
Ebony was not at the drive-through for a couple of days.
And then that couple of days turned into a week or more.
And I was like, "Oh my gosh! Where's Ebony?
Is she sick? Did she get COVID? Did she quit?
What's life gonna be like without Ebony
at the drive-through?"
- No, I didn't give up on y'all.
- And so I was just really worried about her and you know,
wanting her to come back and get my,
keep my days going great.
So yes, I noticed she was missing.
And when she came back,
I was like, "Oh my God, you're back."
And I said, "Were you sick? Did you get COVID?"
And she's like, "Roll up to the window and I will tell you."
So when I got to the drive-through,
she leaned out and told me that she had been evicted
and she had lost her housing and that she was,
she and her children were,
her three kids were taking turns sleeping on the floor
and rotating on the couch
at her mom's one bedroom apartment.
And I just, you know, as a mother of three myself,
I just couldn't imagine that.
And here she was still trying to make my day great
with her great energetic greeting.
And so, yes.
- Come and get your unsweet tea with lemon in it.
- Now we know your order (laughs).
- Unsweet tea with lemon in it.
- Right.
- But this is the thing I love though.
Suzanne, she made such an impact on you
that you ended up writing her a little letter, right?
- [Ebony] Yes, she did. - I did. So I,
after I heard that I was sad and I thought,
"What can I do?"
So I wrote her a little card.
I didn't, you know, offering to help her, if I could,
I didn't want to presume that she wanted help.
So the next day through the drive-through
I just gave her the card with my phone number saying,
"Hey, if you need some help, I'm willing to help you,
except, you know, just give me a shout."
- I love that. And Ebony, did you call?
- Sorry. No, I did not call Ms. Suzanne.
I gave her a day or two, did not call
because I don't like calling on nobody at all
because I be trying to figure everything out on my own.
But at that point, Ms. Kelly, I couldn't figure nothing.
Our bills started piling up,
people cover my shifts, I'm covering people's shifts.
My kids went to remote learning.
I don't have transportation.
my neighbor is my transportation.
And that's when I just decided to call Ms. Suzanne
to help me out.
- But you know what, Ebony,
it's one of those things that's so hard.
I feel like I'm a person, I love to help people,
but it is hard sometimes for me to take the help.
And it's so important.
It's such an important lesson
that God's probably trying to teach you,
that God tries to teach us
because it's one of those things that, we all need help.
Everybody needs help at some point, you know,
whether it's financial, emotionally, like whatever it is.
And I love that you did end up calling.
And Suzanne, what did you do?
Did you know what to do?
- So not right away, not entirely.
You know, I work at a nonprofit
and I spent a lot of my career
in Local Government Social Services Programs.
So I know a lot of programs and, you know,
have the expertise I felt to navigate those.
But I will tell you it's complicated.
Even with my background, it's complicated
and it just requires a lot of follow-up and you know,
so it was frustrating.
I would research opportunities
and then Ebony would pursue them.
But, you know, it took a time
and a lot of different obstacles came up
that we just had to constantly work through.
- [Kelly] Yeah - Yeah.
- Yes, yes. I stayed on it.
Every time I let Ms. Suzanne know what was going on
and everything.
- Yeah. And it's one of those things
when you wanna help like so much,
you just don't know how,
and you're trying to figure that out
and you know you're capable of it.
It's a beautiful thing that you took the time
Suzanne as well.
So Ebony, you were working together for months
to find a place but no luck, right?
So did you think about giving up
or I imagine as a single mom, I'm a single mom.
I imagine you, it's hard to imagine giving up.
- Yes Ms. Kelly.
I wanted to give up so many times,
but due to me knowing I have kids,
I couldn't give up because if I gave up,
who was going to take care of my kids?
So I just kept going, praying to God,
asking him to put me and my kids in a house before Christmas
and just kept my head up and going to work
thinking about my kids and just keep praying everyday
to let me be in our home before Christmas,
because we didn't get to have no thanksgiving.
- I know. And you know what, it's so true.
And we're all mommas here.
Like it's, you go out the window.
It all of a sudden becomes about your kids
and like, "How can I make this better for them?"
Like, "How can I?"
It's so interesting when you're a parent like that,
especially a single parent.
All the focus goes on them
and you're willing to do whatever.
And it's kind of a beautiful thing that takes over.
And it's a selfless thing.
Suzanne, it all came together pretty quickly
in the end though, right?
- It did.
We actually got the right resource
on a nonprofit organization that specializes in housing
for people experiencing homelessness.
Really stepped up, started working with Ebony
and getting her connected.
And then she let me know when they found a place.
And I asked her, "Well, what about furnishings?"
And she said, "I don't have any."
And I said, "Well, let me work on that."
I have, I reached out to a great friend of mine
who owns a Real Estate Staging Company and said,
"Hey, can you help us out?"
And she said, "Absolutely!"
And she partnered
with another nonprofit organization of that stuff,
furniture bank in town.
And so together, we all came together
to make a beautiful home for Ebony and her children.
- My house for me and my kids.
- Wow! Oh, that's such a, it's so beautiful.
(crowd applauds)
- Thanks. That is nice and I love it.
Oh my God! When I've seen it, when I walked in,
it was so amazing.
So, so amazing.
I was so happy and so blessed to just to be at my home,
we'd be able to walk in our house and it was like,
I just broke down and cried.
I'm like, "Oh my God, thank you Ms. Suzanne."
She just don't know how much of an angel she is.
If it wasn't for Ms. Suzanne,
I would not have no place for my kids
to lay their head or they wouldn't be able
to wake up to a Christmas gift
because my struggle was hard.
- Yeah. No. And was it a good Christmas?
Did y'all have a good Christmas?
- Yes Ma'am. I get the cut, I get the cook for my kids.
Oh my God! - [Kelly] I love that.
- That was the fun.
I was so happy to cook for my kids
and to see my kids open their gifts.
They're my babies, I can't wait to see y'all.
- [Kelly] Oh, that's so awesome.
So Suzanne, I have to say
that your work isn't done yet, right?
- No, it's not.
You know, we've got the great housing,
but you know I worry about transportation for Ebony
and getting to work so she can keep, you know,
doing the great job that she does
and wanting to establish an emergency fund.
And then really to help her focus on getting her GED.
She wants to get that and then get a career in cooking.
- Yes I do, that's the number one thing.
- So, we've got plans.
- Oh, that's amazing and those are amazing goals.
So Ebony, as you get back on your feet,
we wanna help you out a little bit as well.
So that's why we're giving you $10,000 just to help out.
Does that sound good? - Oh my God! Ms. Kelly.
Thank you so much (crying).
- [Kelly] Oh my gosh! You're gonna make me cry.
- This is all happening to me, I'm so sorry.
- Oh my gosh! I wish I could hug you.
(Ebony crying)
Oh my God! No, I wish I could hug you.
And here's the thing, we want you to,
we want you to succeed.
(Ebony crying)
- Thank you. - Oh my gosh!
- You just don't understand
because I can get me a car now
and that will make it to work for me or my kids.
Cause it's already hard right now
because they move into remote learning.
And it is like, that's another step for me right there
because I'm gonna have to call off work a little bit
because of this pandemic.
Like, and you just don't understand,
I can have me a car and just take my kids
wherever you wanna go.
You do not have to depend on nobody
'cause it'd been hard.
And I just want people to know, do not give up y'all
because if you give up,
who's gonna take care of your kids?
Who's gonna take care of you?
Who's gonna pay your bills?
Who's gonna do a whole lot for your kids
other than you?
- Oh my gosh! Well Ebony and Suzanne,
it was lovely to meet y'all, we love y'all.
We love this story. - Thank you.
- [Kelly] It's so beautiful.
Good luck on getting that GED.
Congratulations on being able to get a car.
Tell your kiddos we said, 'What's up."
Before we go though, just a reminder to everyone.
This is one of the toughest months for essential workers.
Many places are short-staffed, they're doing their best.
So cut them some slack.
So whether you're at the grocery store or grabbing coffee,
a kind word can mean everything.