Nykia Hamilton, a Burger King employee fired for attendance issues, raises $88K in donations to support three children working minimum wage and 12-hour shift at a South Carolina franchise [VIDEO]

Nykia Hamilton, a Burger King employee fired for attendance issues, raises $88K in donations to support three children working minimum wage and 12-hour shift at a South Carolina franchise after a TikTok video goes viral.

Nykia Hamilton, a 25-year-old single mother of three, rose to online prominence in July after a customer filmed the parent hustling from station to station alone inside the Columbia, SC, fast-food restaurant to ensure hungry customers were fed during a staffing shortage, according to a TikTok video posted on July 6.

However, just over a month after the film was broadcast, Hamilton said she was dismissed from the burger business for being late while caring for her children.

Bruh [Burger King] fired me because I’ve been late because of my kids,’ she said in a tearful TikTok video posted Aug. 8.

‘My kids come first. Y’all don’t pay for no babysitter, or nothing,’ she said.

My thinking is already messed up. I'm trying to keep pushing for my children, but I can't take it any longer. "The devil has been on my back bad..."'I promise you he won,' Hamilton said.

Hamilton described working more than 12 hours per shift at Burger King to support her three children, and she stated that her responsibility as a parent to provide for them did not end just because she was alone.

'One of my employees resigned on me, and they didn't have anyone else to come in, so I had to work alone and close by myself,' Hamilton told WACH News.

'Had to wash the dishes, prep, floor, front counter, and drive-thru,' she explained.

The fast food worker also revealed the emotional toll of working long shifts while trying to raise her three kids.

‘I be missing out on my kids’ lives when I work so much,’ Hamilton said. ‘I have to provide for them, but I really don’t have time to spend with them, and it hurts me a lot.’

The mom said she had help the following day, but the Burger King outlet was still understaffed and was forced to run the store on her own on another closing shift.

‘I closed again by myself last night. I finally got help today. Eleven o’clock and will stay until close at 11,’ she said. ‘We just don’t have any employees. Nobody wants to work anymore.’

Hamilton said she’s deeply grateful for the opportunity to work and provide for her kids since turning over a new leaf in life.

‘I wouldn’t have no job because I do have a record, and it is hard to find a job with a record,’ she said.

‘And by grace of God, she gave me a job. So that’s the only reason why I stayed for her,’ Hamilton added, referencing her manager.