'Changed my life': Starbucks barista seeks stranger who left note before Mother's Day
Courtney Crawford, who works as a barista at an Arkansas Starbucks, said she dreaded Mother's Day after losing her mom to cancer. Now, she's trying to track down a stranger who left her a note and $200 she says changed her life.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KARK) – Starting people's day off right is part of the job description for a barista who comes into work before sunrise. So, when a woman who seemed to be struggling walked into Starbucks on April 25, Courtney Crawford brought sunshine to her day.
"She was tired. She was oh my gosh. I've got all things to do. You could feel the weight, so it was important to me to at least get her smile," Crawford said.
She was successful, and minutes later, that woman returned with a note she gave to Courtney's manager signed "The groggy woman at 5 A.M."
The two-page note praised Crawford for the interaction. It said many things including "You deserve to know you made a difference in someone's day just by being kind."
"I was just expecting the note. When the $200 fell out, that's when I started crying. I was like there it is. There's mom," Crawford said.
The person who Courtney Crawford shared everything with couldn't hear the news. Her mother, Tammy Lea, died weeks after last Mother's Day in June after a fight with cancer. So instead, she told the world on social media.
"I would be lying to you if I told you that I was not dreading Mother's Day, and so I decided that I was going to buy the urn that I had been looking at and bring my mom home for Mother's Day, and I had no idea how I was going to afford it," Crawford said in a TikTok video.
Courtney works three jobs paying off inherited debt. The urn now in her home cost her just about $200, and what she wants more than all the money in the world now, is to let the "groggy woman at 5 A.M." know her act of coffee kindness, given just for a smile, will always be felt when Courtney looks at her mother's ashes.
"She's definitely going to be there in spirit. Like she's the reason that it's possible, and I want her to know that. I want her to know that the impact she made is lasting. It wasn't just a pair of shoes or a nice dress or a nice date. Like, you changed my life. I need you to know that," Crawford said.
It's been three weeks since Courtney shared the TikTok video in an attempt to find that woman. It's been viewed almost 4 million times, but so far, the woman has not been found.
According to the thank you note, she was visiting Little Rock on a business trip, and she had not been to the city in six months.
To help in the search for that woman, reach out to KARK 4 News at 501-340-4444.