Chick-fil-A coworkers help one of their own for Christmas
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The joy of giving back unfolded in downtown Raleigh Tuesday. A mother of two who was homeless moved into her first home last week. Now, her coworkers are stepping in to make sure she and her family have the kind of Christmas they didn't think was possible.
Sheree Carter has been working at the Chick-fil-A on Fayetteville Street since Oct. 1.
"I don't even think they knew that I was homeless because I didn't show it," said Carter of her new coworkers.
The 37-year-old mother of two had no choice; after losing both her parents and the father of her children, she lived in shelters and temporary housing, working hard to land this job and provide for her 9-year-old Twyla and 15-year-old Cortez.
"It wasn't easy but I made it a good situation for them by showing them love," she said.
"Just hearing her story and how hard she's worked to provide for her family, we knew it would be the right integrity and ethics that we were looking for to join our team," said Darrena McCulloh, Fayetteville Street Chick-fil-A owner.
When Carter moved her family into an apartment of their own last week, McCulloh and other coworkers wanted to help, buying her furniture and dishes, even presents for the kids to open Christmas morning.
"Seeing my kids' faces, how happy they are," Carter said, when asked what she was looking forward to most. "And actually be able to have our first official Christmas here and don't have to worry about where we're going to stay the next day."
Carter called ABC11 wanting to show her coworkers how grateful she was for their generosity.
"I'm just overwhelmed with everything basically and this is my only way that I could think of thanking them," she told us.
But her coworkers weren't finished surprising her. McCulloh has been raising money through her church and amongst their coworkers and presented Carter with an envelope full of cash.
"She has a need for a washer and dryer," said McCulloh. "So we've saved up some extra cash; we wanted to make sure we could give that to you today."
Through tears, Carter hugged her boss, thanking her for all they've done to help her family.
"My pleasure," McCulloh responded. "We mean it -- we really do mean it's our pleasure to serve."
