Aaron’s final Wish : $500 Tips for Waiters and Waitresses

A Vermont waitress got the tip of a lifetime after serving hamburgers and ice cream to a customer.

Julie Bombria is a waitress at Friendly’s Restaurant. Wednesday night she received her biggest tip to date. After finishing his ice cream sundae, customer Seth Collins gave the 18-year-old waitress $500.

It was a first for her, but not for him. When Seth’s brother Aaron Collins suddenly died last year he left instructions in his will.

“That was the request. That we go to dinner and leave a $500 tip for a waiter or waitress,” Collins said.

And so he did.

Collins left the first tip 2 days later.

Since then he’s been touring the country tipping well, and sharing his brother’s story.

And Collins says he heals a little more every time.

“It was really important to the grieving process and to keeping him alive and not feeling like I’d lost him. Not completely, anyway,” Collins said.

But Collins tip isn’t just cash he also gives a book written by his mother detailing his brother’s life.

“And then she sent me with enough copies of the book so that every server I give a $500 tip to could also have a copy of the book so they could learn more about Aaron,” Collins said.

“It’s really not about $500 because, that’s a lot of money, ya know… It’s more about the story. It meant so much to me last night. I was just, uhhhh!,” explained Bombria.

Bombria says she was thrilled with the tip, but even happier to be part of Seth Collins’ mission.

Canadajournal/Agencies