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People Taking Action: Young Virginia Beach pizza shop manager, full-time student finds time to take action!

Posted at 6:16 PM, May 07, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-07 20:30:34-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - With balloons, family members and co-workers on hand, it was time to surprise the general manager of the Marcos Pizza on Virginia Beach Boulevard.

We all walked in with News 3 cameras rolling looking for Emily Clifford, who didn't know what to think!

I told Emily we got this email from her mom, Jane Clifford: "She takes a direct interest in her staff and their well-being. She befriended a young single mom-to-be and is now the godmother to her child. She babysits free of charge to allow the mom to get back to work."

Emily Clifford is all smiles as she receives her News 3 People Taking Action award

That young mom is Shelby Kovach, who says, "She was the only person I told when I was in labor and she was at the hospital the whole time. Meanwhile, when I was going through postpartum, she was the number one person there helping me take care of my son."

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Emily works her full-time job, she is a full-time college student and yet there's another co-worker who she is taking action for - Mike Tobin, a disabled veteran who is having some serious transportation challenges.

"She's fantastic - absolutely fantastic!" Tobin gushed. "I can't even describe how good of a person she actually is!"

Tobin says that because Emily has tried to raise funds - donating her own tips for him to get his car fixed and sometimes driving him to the hospital to get his medicine.

And as her mom proudly points out, "She does all of this while maintaining a full college schedule, making the dean's list and working 55+ hours a week. She deserves to be recognized for her humanitarian efforts."

For those reasons, News 3 presented Emily with a People Taking Action award along with a $300 Visa gift card from our community partner, Southern Bank.

Her reaction?

"I'm in shock! I just do what I can. I don't know what to say! I just feel it's the right thing to do, and if you can help people you should help them."

Do you know someone who's worthy of a People Taking Action award? Click here to nominate them!