Kindness of Strangers: Woman Helps Elderly DoorDash Driver Retire
- 1 hour ago
- 1 min read
When Brittany Smith ordered Starbucks through DoorDash, she wasn’t expecting to see doorbell footage of an elderly driver struggling to climb stairs while delivering her order.
The 20-second clip shows the elderly man, dressed in a red shirt and khakis, gripping the handrail and climbing a small set of stairs before dropping the delivery at the front door. Upon seeing the recording, the Tennessee local soon tracked him down to give him a $200 tip in person. That was when Richard, who is 78 years old, told her he had previously been retired, but was forced to sign up as a delivery driver after the price of his wife’s medication ballooned out of control.
Richard explained that he started delivering for DoorDash after his wife, who requires “very expensive” medication, lost her job through no fault of her own, Smith said. After paying for their necessities, the couple didn’t have enough left over, so Richard started using the delivery app to supplement their income, Smith added.
So, Smith launched a fundraiser to help ease his financial burden. The campaign quickly gained traction, drawing more than 12,000 donations and surpassing $500,000 in a matter of days. “I had no idea that I was going to gain that much traction,” she said. Smith called the response “overwhelming,” but said she’d “do it over again in a heartbeat.” She hopes the funds will help Richard go back into retirement.
