Three waitresses get $5,000 tips from stranger

CALEDONIA, Ill., Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A trio of Illinois waitresses given $5,000 tips by a customer said the woman told them she was sent by God to help them.

Amy Sabani, 25, Sarah Seckinger, 23, and Amber Kariolich, 28, said they had been sorting silverware at the Boone County Family Restaurant in Caledonia Saturday and chatting about their student loans, school ambitions and other financial matters when a female customer approached them with three $5,000 checks, the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star reported Tuesday.

"I want you girls to take these to help with school and everything else in life," the waitresses quoted the woman as saying. "Yes, you can take it. You put that in your pocket. God sent me here to help you."

The waitresses said the woman, whose name they did not reveal, would not let them refuse the money.

Matt Nebiu, owner of the restaurant, said he had seen the woman in the restaurant before, but she isn't a regular.

"I've never seen anything like this in 30-something years here," Nebiu said. "I've heard of it in other places, but not in this town or this area."