'Big give' experiment helps Windsor waitress

WINDSOR -- Growing up, Mary Ann Baak always knew something was different in her home.

Having a single mom, money was tight trying to feed Baak and her two siblings.

But she did it on a waitress' salary, and she still managed to be around most all the time.

"She would only work day shifts while we were in school, and the tips on day shifts aren't that great," Baak said.

When Baak had a family of her own, she found herself in nearly the same position. Her husband had left her with $30,000 in unpaid debt with two children 16-months apart and a baby less than a year old.

She sold Tupperware to supplement her Air National Guard salary and added a night gig at a television call center for infomercials.

So when Mark Ludy, owner of Loodles Coffee, Books and Art, 1180 Main St., Suite 1, decided to offer a pay-it-forward contest, "The Big Give," challenging Windsor residents to write in and tell him what they would do with $500 if they had it to give away, it didn't take Baak long to figure out how to share Ludy's wealth.

"Had it not been for generous friends, I don't know what I would have done," she said. "I just love anything that's giving. Even though we were poor, we didn't know it. If we had extra yarn, we made slipper socks for seniors. We made them candy at Christmas."

Ludy picked two winners from more than 50 entries to give away $556 to people they felt needed the money. The money came from one day's receipts at his business. The other winner, George Sisneros, decided to divide his money between two families. Some went to a family that lost their home in a fire earlier this year, and some went to a single mom for a spa and makeover package.

Although Baak also focused on single moms, she went back to what was dear to her heart and the profession that got her family through the rough times.

Baak, who's lived in Windsor for 10 years, dined out for lunch recently, leaving her waitress a $100 tip with a note explaining where the money came from. The rest went as a tip to a coffeehouse employee.

Her first recipient, Sarah White, 23, of Greeley works at Egg & I at the corner of Main and 11th streets. Although it took White a few moments to realize what was going on, when it finally hit her that the $100 was a tip for a $7 lunch, she got tears in her eyes.

"Thank you so much," she told Baak. "I can use this for a doctor's appointment I have next week."

Baak said she chose the lunch hour instead of dinner because she wanted to get waitresses who weren't in high school and likely working to raise a family.

"I always dreamt about doing something like this," Baak said. "This is really cool."