An elderly DoorDash driver from Tennessee, who became an internet sensation after a video showed him having difficulty delivering a Starbucks order, has received nearly $1 million in donations. Despite this unexpected windfall, he has decided against retiring.
Richard Pulley, 78, was captured on a doorbell camera as he painstakingly navigated a set of stairs to deliver a coffee order to Brittany Smith’s home. Smith, a nurse from Manchester, was moved by Pulley’s effort and determination.
After learning that Pulley had been forced out of retirement due to his wife Brenda’s sudden job loss, Smith launched a GoFundMe campaign titled “Give Richard a Chance to Rest Again.” Her initiative struck a chord, attracting thousands of donors.
Last Friday, Pulley received a transformative check for $965,868, thanks to the generosity of over 32,000 contributors, including a notable $20,000 donation from DoorDash itself.
Despite his newfound fortune and online fame, Pulley has announced through Today.com that he plans to resume work within a few days.
‘They’ve set my wife and I up so that we can live a more comfortable life,’ the hardworking driver told the outlet.
‘But after a week or two of this and it cools down, we’ll get back to work because I feel good being useful,’ he added.
Instead, his wife said they plan to use the funds to slow down and ease financial stress, with Pulley adding that the donations are ‘making life livable once again,’ according to WSMV 4 News.
Richard Pulley, a 78-year-old DoorDash driver, was handed a life-changing check totaling $965,868 from a GoFundMe set up for him and his wife, Brenda (both pictured)
Pulley was seen on doorbell footage struggling to climb the stairs as he slowly made his way to Brittany Smith’s front door earlier this month
Smith (left), a nurse in Manchester, set up a fundraiser after discovering Pulley (center) was forced out of retirement when his wife, Brenda (right), abruptly lost her job
‘I taught myself how to be a good worker again, although the last couple of shifts have worked out hard because people stop and take pictures with me and all sorts of things,’ he told Today.
‘I’ll get back to work in the next few days,’ he added, explaining that while the job was initially for money, it has also given him the benefit of daily exercise.
The touching tale began just weeks ago, when Smith said she was not happy after learning that her daughter’s father had arranged for Starbucks to be delivered to her front door for the third time that week, according to The Independent.
That one order, however, may have been fate. When Smith clicked on the Ring doorbell app, she saw ‘a little old man walking up the steps.’
‘My heart just sank,’ she told Today.
In the brief clip lasting just 20 seconds, an elderly man in a plaid button-down shirt and khakis gripped the handrail as he slowly climbed a small set of stairs and carefully set a brown paper bag at the front door.
‘I called my husband and was like, “I don’t know what kind of tip you left this man, but it better have been a good one,”‘ Smith told Today, explaining that her husband, who is quadriplegic, never had any contact with the driver.
‘He’s like “Why?”‘ she added. ‘I downloaded the video and sent it to him and he’s like, “Oh my God, that is awful.”‘
Pulley (pictured) revealed that he’ll be back to work within a few days, despite the newfound fame and massive payout
Brenda said they plan to use the funds to slow down and ease financial stress, with her husband adding that the donations are ‘making life livable once again’
Pulley’s wife of 56 years was let go from an insurance company, and while they receive Social Security, it wasn’t enough to cover her medication costing thousands a year (both pictured)
Smith felt compelled to use social media to track down the ‘precious man,’ sharing the moving video in an effort to learn his name.
The clip quickly amassed millions of views, with one Facebook user recognizing the man as Pulley, who regularly delivered DoorDash orders to her office.
Smith tracked down his address, confirmed the car in the driveway matched her doorbell footage and showed up at his door with an unexpected $200 tip.
‘They are the most genuine people I have ever met,’ she told the outlet. ‘He genuinely loves and cares for her and she genuinely loves and cares for him.’
She later learned that Pulley had come out of retirement after his wife of 56 years lost her job, leaving the couple with little to nothing after paying monthly bills and medication costs.
‘My wife was working for an insurance company and they ended up letting her go,’ Pulley told Today, adding that while they receive Social Security, it still wasn’t enough to cover his wife’s expensive medication costing thousands a year.
‘When she left, it really put a pinch on us to pay bills,’ he added. ‘I had gotten lazy. You know, when we get 65 and retire… I wasn’t doing a lot, but all of a sudden, I had to get to work.’
Over the past year, he’s completed around 6,000 DoorDash deliveries full-time while working alongside his wife, who stays behind the wheel as he hops out to deliver the goods.
In a year, Pulley has completed around 6,000 DoorDash deliveries full-time while working alongside his wife
Smith and her daughter met Pulley and his wife at a local burger restaurant just days later to reveal the total amount of donations (all pictured)
More than 32,000 people donated to Pulley’s fundraiser, including a $20,000 contribution from DoorDash
‘With just one income in the family, you have to push. Just losing that, we had to supplement it,’ Pulley told WSMV.
Brenda added: ‘When you’re past your mid-70s, there’s not exactly a line of people waiting to hire you.’
‘Sometimes you just look at all the things that you need to pay… because if it don’t, you’re going to end up in the hospital with something even more expensive than that.’
Smith’s fundraiser exploded online overnight, drawing donations from over 12,000 people by the very next day.
She and her daughter met Pulley and his wife at a local burger restaurant just days later to reveal the total amount of donations.
The couple were stunned by the generosity, admitting it was hard to believe that complete strangers had come together to support them.
‘It’s just really difficult to believe that there’s that many people that are that generous to try to help us. People that don’t even know us,’ Brenda told the outlet.
‘I just can’t believe that someone would be that caring to set this up for us,’ she added. ‘It takes off a lot. It really does.’
Smith said that the response to the fundraiser was ‘overwhelming,’ but she would ‘do it all over again in a heartbeat’
Pulley said that while the job was initially for money, it has also given him the benefit of daily exercise
The couple said it was hard to believe there is ‘that many people that are that generous to try to help us,’ especially complete strangers
Smith said that while the response to the fundraiser was ‘overwhelming,’ she would ‘do it all over again in a heartbeat.’
‘I don’t know,’ she told WSMV. ‘It’s just, I love this man.’
Her daughter added: ‘I want him to be my grandpa.’
