A Tennessee woman saw her elderly DoorDash driver nearly fall on the stairs — and secretly raised $900,000 to relieve him
The elderly man and his wife had been 'tag-teaming' deliveries for more than a year, with her driving and him getting out to deliver the food.
What started as a routine Starbucks delivery in Tennessee soon became a life-changing moment for a 78-year-old DoorDash driver and his wife when one customer decided she could not ignore what she saw. As per WSMV 4 Nashville, on March 12, Manchester resident Brittany Smith had ordered coffee and later checked her Ring doorbell camera, expecting nothing unusual.
She was, however, in for a bit of a shock. The CCTV video showed an elderly delivery driver slowly climbing the steps to her porch, holding tightly to the railing for support. Watching the man struggle immediately concerned her and left her wondering why someone his age was still working deliveries.
The driver was Richard Pulley, who had been making DoorDash deliveries with the help of his wife, Brenda. The couple had turned to gig work after Brenda lost her job, forcing them to find another way to cover everyday expenses. The two had been "tag-teaming" deliveries for more than a year, with Brenda driving and Richard getting out to deliver the food.
"When you’re past your mid-70s, there’s not exactly a line of people waiting to hire you," Brenda explained while speaking with WSMV about why they started doing deliveries.
After seeing the video, Smith decided to post it on Facebook while trying to learn more about the man who had just delivered her order. Alongside the footage, she wrote, "Help me find this precious man! Why is he having to DoorDash? His name is Richard! Help me find him."
The post spread across social media as people shared the clip and asked how they could help. Before long, Smith managed to track Richard down and meet him in person. After hearing more about the couple’s situation, she shared another update online explaining that he was not working because he simply wanted to stay busy.
"He is precious and he is not working because he wants to. He’s working [because] he has to," Smith wrote. Just like Richard, many Americans have to stay in the workforce well past traditional retirement age out of financial necessity or to cover everyday living costs.
According to the Pew Research Center, about 19% of Americans aged 65 and older were employed in 2023 — nearly double the share from 35 years earlier — and workers ages 75 and older have become one of the fastest-growing age groups in the labor force.
Wanting to do more than just share the story, Smith decided to start a GoFundMe campaign to help Richard and Brenda finally step away from delivery work. Within just over 24 hours, the fundraiser had already raised more than $300,000, and by March 15, the total had surpassed $900,000.
For Richard and Brenda, the generosity was overwhelming. The couple said it was hard to process the number of strangers who had stepped forward to help them. "It’s just really difficult to believe that there are that many people who are that generous to try to help us," Brenda said. "People that don’t even know us."
Smith later arranged to meet Richard and Brenda at Jiffy Burger in Manchester so they could see the donation total together. She brought her daughter along, and the two quickly formed a bond with the couple they had only recently met. "I don’t know. It’s just I love this man," Smith said. Her daughter shared a similar reaction, saying, "I want him to be my grandpa." "We appreciate every one of them," he said. "It’s taking a lot of pressure off of us and making life livable once again," Brenda added. She also acknowledged Smith, saying, "She’s remarkable. I just can’t believe that someone would be that caring to set this up for us."
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