Ellen repays the kindness of a waitress who picked up lunch tab of two National Guard soldiers

Sarah Hoidahl just wanted to do a nice thing.

The waitress from Concord, New Hampshire, picked up the $27.75 tab of two National Guard soldiers who were having lunch at the Ruby Tuesday restaurant where she works. The soldiers had been among those impacted by the shutdown of the federal government.

Ellen DeGeneres found out the gesture (it was posted on the National Guard Facebook page) and decided to repay the waitress with the original $27.75 – plus a check for $10,000 – plus a 50-inch television!

Ellen said to an emotional Hoidahl: “You’re a good person.”