For no other reason than that she was a working mom with a great personality and an important job making sure people drive safely through the city of Detroit, a traffic control officer was recently on the receiving end of all the goodness social media can wield.
It started when TikTok account MDMotivators interviewed Lanita Edge on duty in the middle of the road, gabbing as she does with passers-by, and wishing people a happy Mother’s Day.
She revealed in the video which went viral that she felt it was an important service to the city—to help people get where they need to go and get home safely. She explained she was born and raised in the Motor City, and was a Tigers fan.
In that first video, Edge was surprised when the TikToker Zackery invited her to the Tigers game for Mother’s Day. The working mom recently lost her husband and asked if the invitation was reliant on the fruits of her paycheck, at which point Zackery surprised her with $500.
Meanwhile, Zackery had secretly set up a crowdfunding campaign that amassed $50,000, a gift simply for being her fine self, that was delivered on the grass in the Tiger’s ballpark.
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“The people of Detroit have watched the video and donated an additional $50,000,” he said.
Her son and Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers handed her the check.
“It was like a movie. It was beautiful. I feel very blessed to be able to just witness this,” Zackery told ABC 7 Detroit. “All I am doing is showcasing who she is as an individual and the people online came together and created this.”
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“God uses wonderful people every day,” Edge said, explaining she was at a loss for words. “I didn’t know this man and God used him to be a blessing to me. I couldn’t thank him enough. I couldn’t give God thanks enough.”
Now, 9 million social media views later, and dozens of people stop along the crosswalk to say hello, congratulate, or wish her well.
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