Indiana College Students Give $1,300 Tip in Jesus' Name for $13 Pizza
A group of students at Indiana Wesleyan University gave a local pizza delivery driver a tip of $1,268 along with gift cards and thousands of inspirational notes as part of an illustration during the weekly prayer service after he delivered an order worth $12.50.
The generosity followed efforts by Keith Newman, the CEO of Residential Education, to illustrate a point to 3,000 students during a weekly prayer gathering at the college's chapel: "Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone."
The Marion-based Indiana Wesleyan University is a private, evangelical Christian, liberal arts university.
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After driver James Gilpin came to deliver the order for two pizzas, he was escorted into the main hall, greet by thousands of students during their weekly chapel service on Wednesday morning and presented with the $1,268 tip, $70 in gift cards and thousands of inspirational notes that the students had written, according to ABC News.
Gilpin was thanked for doing what he does.
"They pulled me out on stage, and the gentleman started talking to me for a couple minutes and then he announced that he had $1,248.86 for me. Everybody was cheering," Gilpin was quoted as saying. "At the time I didn't know what to think; it didn't sink in until about two hours afterwards."
For Newman, this was a practical example of showing love.
"When I do any kind of teaching, I try to use stories because that's the way I learn. I think stories are great, but if you can show somebody a story, it's even more powerful," Newman was quoted as saying. "And if you can involve them in the story, it's even more powerful. So we had the chance to act out a story."
The needs one sees around himself or herself are overwhelming, Newman acknowledged. "So his message was a simple one; that just because you can't do everything doesn't mean you can't do something. So do for one what you wish you could do for everyone."
Gilpin said he will use the money for Christmas presents for his children among other things.
"I thought it was very nice for an average Joe like me to get something like that. They didn't know me from me Adam, and they just picked me out random and handed me the money. It was really nice," he said. "It's nice to know that there's a lot of encouragement from Indiana Wesleyan and their students to do something like that. It couldn't have come at a better time. I'm very grateful for what they've done for me."
