CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi movie theater employee Jason Grosboll is a star.
After going viral on TikTok in December for being a popcorn-pouring phenom, he got a shoutout from Henry Winkler and appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! where he was invited to make popcorn for the stars at the Oscars.
Since the video went viral, several people have reached out to us on Facebook asking how to help Grosboll.
At least one GoFundMe page has popped up for Grosboll.
3NEWS policy is to verify GoFundMe accounts before publishing them, so we reached out to the account's creator to see if the donation page was legitimate.
Justin Herrera, who created the online fundraiser as a way to help a fellow service-industry employee, assured us that it is.
Herrera tells 3NEWS he made the GoFundMe after he saw a post Grosboll made on the website Twitch about wanting to use his newfound attention to help his dad out.
And while a Cinemark policy posted online states that employees are not allowed to accept gifts under any circumstances, after realizing the fundraiser would benefit Grosboll's father, a company representative tells 3NEWS that in this case, accepting the funds would not violate its policy.
"Cinemark would not have any issue with that," they said.
Because Cinemark is a publicly traded company subject to regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, there are certain policies its employees have to agree to before being hired.
The policy is similar to other corporate policies, but is meant to avoid situations such as employees receiving gifts as a reward directly related to their job performance, such as people giving them tips while they're at work.
Because Grosboll's father would be the beneficiary of the money Herrera would raise, there is no conflict, the representative said.
"(It is) out of the realm of his job," they said. "If the cause is to help, Cinemark would not interfere with it."
The representative said Cinemark is grateful for the way the city and the nation have supported Grosboll, saying that he is an employee that embodies the company's guiding philosophies.
"That is so awesome!" Herrera said when 3NEWS told him Cinemark would allow the GoFundMe. "Thank you."