Brittany Smith, Manchester, Tennessee woman comes to the rescue of Richard elderly DoorDash driver taking care of sick wife after she lost her job and affordable healthcare as Good Samaritan launches GoFundme fundraiser to help couple and allow gig worker to go back to retirement.
It might be an indictment that a wealthy industrialist society like the United States, down and out citizens have to resort to gig work and online fundraising drives to get back on their feet, but from another point, it is redeeming to know there are still enough people in society who care about their neighbor and are willing to help them get back on their feet.
Meet Brittany Smith of Manchester, Tennessee, a benevolent soul who recently took it upon herself to come to the aid of Richard a 70 year old something DoorDash driver who had recently delivered her Starbucks order.
Sensing not all was well with Richard, Smith shared a a Ring camera video of the DoorDash driver dropping off her order as part of a fundraising initiative she started which as of Thursday morning had raised a staggering 211K.
Good Samaritan tracks down elderly DoorDash driver in need
‘It was evident from the video [that] this was a task for him,’ Smith said in the video. ‘He is precious and he is not working because he wants to; he’s working because he has to.’
Smith said she was able to track down Richard through social media and learned that he worked DoorDash to help pay for monthly expenses, including medication, for him and his wife.
‘His wife [was] fired from her job (at no fault of her own), and by the time they pay their monthly expenses … there is nothing left,’ Smith wrote. ‘Let’s help Richard go back into retirement!!’
The implicit unsaid is that in the United States, losing one’s job is for many the end of most individuals access to affordable healthcare. The dilemma even exists for those with employer insurance with out of reach costs forcing many to make untenable trade-offs, including skipping meals, or resorting to volatile app work.
More than 7,400 people have since donated to the GoFundMe, helping raise more than $212,000 as of Thursday morning.
