Cleburne

Good Samaritan Leaves $4,000 Tip for Single Mom in Cleburne

A single mother received an unexpected tip of $4,000 from a generous stranger at a dance hall in Cleburne that will help her send her son to college

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When Chelsea Bell Lantrip clocked in for her bartending shift at Chances Dance Hall in Cleburne, she didn't expect the good fortune that would come her way later that day.

Bell recalled "two random girls" she'd never seen coming into the bar on Tuesday. She said that one of the women "ordered the whole house a round," with the tab rounding up to $179.

What Bell thought was a normal transaction turned out to be something completely different. The woman tipped Bell $1,000.

"I started crying and [and then she said] 'no that's not good enough' and raised it to $2,000," Bell said.

When Bell went to retrieve the receipt later, she saw that the woman had ultimately left a tip of $4,000.

"I didn't believe it until it went through the credit card machine, I still didn't believe it until it hit the bank," said Bell, shocked at the discovery,

The tip had more impact than the giver could've known. Bell is a single mother whose son is going to Texas A&M in the fall. According to dance hall owner Carmen Senese, Bell's son received a scholarship and a grant but that isn't enough to cover everything.

"I'm so proud of my kid, he's brilliant, he's smart. It hurts when you can't help your kid [but] now I can just a little bit," Bell explained.

Bell is also planning to pay off some bills and take her mom, aunt and grandmother out to a nice dinner.

According to Senese, the tip-giver had received an inheritance and wanted to "tithe it to a stranger."

Bell is still amazed that the woman chose her. "She is a gift from God. I believe in guardian angels, I believe in people coming into your life at the right time that you need them. And she was definitely one of them."

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