Sometimes being nice really pays off. Liz Woodward is a waitress at the 130 Diner in New Jersey. It was a regular night and a regular shift, but she went out of her way to be kind to others, and the kindness ended coming back to her to ways she never expected.

During Woodward’s shift, two firefighters entered the diner around 5am. They had been fighting a large fire all night, but Woodward didn’t know that right away. All she knew was that they asked for a large cup of coffee and seemed like they’d had a difficult night.

After the firefighters had finished eating, they asked for their bill, and they were blown away by what it cost – absolutely nothing. Woodward wrote on the bill, “Your breakfast is on me today – thank you for all that you do; for serving others & for running into the places everyone else runs away from. No matter your role, you are courageous, brave and strong…thank you for being bold and badass everyday! Fueled by fire & driven by courage – what an example you are. Get some rest. :) Liz.”

One of the firefighters, Tim Young, was so surprised and impressed by the kind gesture and note that he posted about it on Facebook. His post ended up going viral, but the story doesn’t end there.

Young ended up finding out that Woodward was actually trying to save up money to buy her quadriplegic father a wheelchair accessible van. Young and fellow firefighter, Paul, decided to try to help the waitress achieve her goal, so they set up a GoFundMe on her behalf. This time, it was her turn to be pleasantly surprised.

Watch the video below to find out more about this touching story and to learn how much the firefighters were able to raise for Woodward to buy a van for her father.

Have you ever had a stranger surprise you buy paying for your meal at a restaurant?