Everything we do creates a chain reaction

Caitlin Reilley was donated all the money after she started a Venmo challenge

Giving back and spreading some kindness

BUFFALO, N.Y. — With all that has gone on in 2020, smiles have been hard to come by. That’s why Caitlin Reilley, a local photographer, decided to brighten a random restaurant server’s day with a $1,000 tip.

Looking to make a difference in someone’s life, the Buffalo native asked her social media followers to donate any amount they could to put towards a “generous tip” for her server at her next meal. Reilley was hoping to raise around $200 but after the donations started pouring in 191 people had contributed close to $2,000.

“Within seconds, I had multiple donations of people just saying, ‘Give back, tip the server, pay it forward.’ So many people want to help. It wasn’t just people from Buffalo. I had written down all the names of the people who had donated and wrote a card to give to her,” Reilley said.

Reilley decided to give half of the money to her server, Cassandra Elahrag, over at Break’n Eggs Crêperie in Williamsville.

“It was probably the most shocking and amazing moment of my life thus far because the kindness of strangers has absolutely blown me away,” Elahrag said. “I can’t explain what it was like to go home and read all of the names of the people that donated. When I say it means the world to me, I truly mean it.”

Elahrag shared that tip with several of her co-workers.

It was a grand gesture from Reilley and several people hoping to make the world a little kinder.
However, Reilley also had support from someone she wasn’t expecting.

“It ended up being $1,954. That’s the same year my dad was born so I knew that he was with me,” she said.
Reilley’s father Michael passed away from brain cancer in August 2019, six months after her mother Cindy died from breast cancer.

It was the sign she needed to know she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
“We would always go out to breakfast. It was usually somewhere local on Main Street. Pancake House, Breakn’ Eggs. It reassured me you’re supposed to be here and dad is proud of me,” Reilley said.
Now she’s challenging others to make her proud.

“I just want to carry this into my life in general, not just with money but with kindness. People need that right now,” Reilley said.

Her next step will be to also surprise a local front-line worker with $1,000, the remainder of what was raised.

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