Richard Pulley DoorDash driver fund reaches nearly $1M as 78-year-old and wife, Brenda says he refuses to retire (just yet) as it keeps him fit while appreciating outpouring as DoorDash CEO, Tony Xu also makes a special contribution.
A 78-year-old DoorDash driver who went viral online after he was caught on a doorbell struggling while making a delivery earlier this month is nearly a millionaire thanks to thousands of donations courtesy of a caring woman who had ordered Starbucks.
Richard Pulley was seen struggling making his way along a driveway to Brittany Smith’s home in Manchester, Tennessee, on March 10 while dropping off her Starbucks orders.
Saddened by the elderly man’s difficulty with the delivery, Smith used social media to connect with Pulley to learn why the visibly elder and afflicted man was still working.
The power of collective good will
She discovered the 78-year-old was forced to turn to app work after his wife, Brenda, recently losing her job and health benefits. The ordeal left the couple with no money to afford their expenses and medication.
Touched by what she saw, Smith launched the GoFundMe on behalf of the elderly man with one goal in mind: ‘Let’s help Richard go back into retirement!’
Brenda initially set a goal of $20,000, but so many have been keen to help Pulley out that donations have flowed in rapidly, totaling more than $946,369 at the time of publishing.
With over 32,000 different donations, the goal has since been raised to an eye-popping $1.1million.
In an interview with WSMV, Pulley expressed his gratitude for the donations: ‘We appreciate every one of them.’
‘It’s taking a lot of pressure off of us,’ he added. ‘And making life livable once again.’
DoorDash CEO makes special contribution
It was later revealed that the elderly couple worked together as delivery drivers: Brenda would drive, and her husband would deliver the food to the home.
‘When you’re past your mid-70s, there’s not exactly a line of people waiting to hire you,’ Brenda told the outlet.
Added Brenda, ‘I just can’t believe that someone would be that caring to set this up for us.’
After hearing the story, DoorDash CEO, Tony Xu personally called Richard to thank him for making nearly 6,000 deliveries, and DoorDash is adding $20,000 to the donations, along with a smaller gift for the customer Brittany for her support according to an email received by scallywagandvagabond.com.
Even with the new nest egg, Richard told DoorDash he plans to keep ‘dashing’ as long as he can because it keeps him active and he enjoys it.
