After Deb’s Diner owner Debbie Thibault read a front page news article about a horse refuge seeking help, her staff decided to give away more than $400 in tips as a holiday gift.
Thibault said the whole staff at her Rt. 1 Waldoboro business saves their ‘to go’ tips throughout the summer and, toward the end of the year, they pool the tips together. Some years they all go shopping or go out together for the holiday, as a ‘pat on the back’ for a lot of hard work. Thibault said one year they had sweatshirts embroidered with the Deb’s Diner logo, but this year was different.
“I had horses years ago,” she said, adding that she was drawn in by the Oct. 2 Bangor Daily News article, “No Vacancies at Refuge.”
She saw that the refuge, Downeast Equine and Large Animal Society, had 14 horses and the owner couldn’t afford to board any more.
“She’s (owner- Debbie Mclain) trying to feed them and they’ve run out of donations,” Thibault said, adding that she has kept a cutout of the article since reading it.
Recently, Thibault and her staff counted all of the money they had in a big, glass jar. It came out to $400 plus a whole bunch of change (an estimated $30).
“It didn’t take any convincing,” she said of her staff. “No one hesitated. We all think animals should be taken care of.”
The staff, which includes Jackie York, Jill Reynolds, Sarah Taylor and Melonie Hilton, will continue to save their tips for another cause, maybe next spring.
The newspaper article states donations can be sent to DELAS, PO Box 485, Cherryfield, 04622. For more information 638-3005.
