April DiDonna told a client that she loved him after ordering from Wendy’s drive-thru where he works in Oak Harbor, Washington. Three months later, thousands of people said, “I love you.”
“Knowing that the little three words could mean so much to so many people overwhelms my heart with so much more love,” DiDonna told CNN. “I really think that if we loved each other, the world would be better.”
The love routine continued and DiDonna began counting how many people said “I love you” back. About 2,700 customers have responded to each other’s message since it began counting on Oct. 3, starting Friday before its exchange.
Every time a customer completes an order, the assistant manager sprinkles in her love message.
“I love you. You’re loved. You count. You do. You love you,” she says. – That’s what I say.
David Antis, senior vice president of operations for WTC Ventures, the company that operates the Wendy’s franchise, said he was proud of DiDonna for spreading a positive message.
“April is a valued member of the team at our Wendy’s restaurant in Oak Harbor, Washington. Her kindness and positivity inspires us all and we are grateful for the joy she brings to our customers and our restaurant team,” he said.
Sometimes people are a little surprised to hear his message through a drive-through speaker, DiDonna said.
“Sometimes people are not sure,” said the 35-year-old. “It simply came to our notice then. If people can hate for no reason, why can’t they love? ”
Usually people see her idea and many of them say “I love you too,” she said.
Her message can change someone’s day
At other times, the positive message changes a person’s day more than anyone would know, DiDonna said.
Once, an elderly woman asked to speak in the voice behind the message. When DiDonna went to the window, he saw the woman crying.
When DiDonna said he asked the woman if she was okay and what was wrong, the woman simply thanked him.
“Thank you for telling me you loved me,” DiDonna said.
The client told DiDonna that her husband had died and that her brother had recently died. “I don’t have anyone to tell me I still love me and there’s no one there to hug me,” DiDonna said.
DiDonna, herself a widow and the mother of three boys, asked the woman to go to the store door. He asked if he could open the car door and then hugged the woman.
“When I hugged this woman, she melted into my arms and started crying,” DiDonna said. “I told him that if he had to be told he loved to come back, I would give him a hug whenever he wanted.”
DiDonna told the woman her name was April, and the woman said her name was Peggy.
Since hugging her on October 2, DiDonna has said that Peggy has returned to Wendy about five times. Several hugs were shared.
She found the light after a time of darkness
However, there was a time when DiDonna was in a dark place, she said. Her husband died in 2019 and “her life just turned upside down,” she said.
“I was wasted a lot of time,” DiDonna said. “I’ve been sad for a long time, but no longer. There’s so much light and I’ll keep shining.”
These days, DiDonna tries to share her love message with strangers on a daily basis, whether she’s at Wendy’s, walking down the street or at a store in town, she said.
Nowadays, some customers tell DiDonna that they love her even before ordering, she said.
“I love the people I see every day,” she said. “There’s so much love right now that I’m spilling it on others.”
For anyone who has been marked by the many misfortunes of 2020, DiDonna has a message of light.
“2021 will be a great year,” DiDonna said. “The universe is changing. Everything is aligning.”