The power of social media and the internet on display.
In the many stories that I’ve written, I’ve often touched on the negative aspects of social media. The disconnection, the overwhelming negative discourse, and the consistent comparison that people put themselves through… sometimes you wonder if it’s all even worth it?
But then you see a story like this, and not only does it give you the feeling that social media’s existence garners some positivity, it also lets you know that there are still plenty of good people in this world. Though we might hear more about the bad apples than the good ones, there are still plenty of good apples.
One of them is Brittany Smith.
Earlier this week, the Manchester, Tennessee resident had Starbucks DoorDashed to her home. She was surprised when her order was delivered by a 78-year-old man who had trouble getting up her front porch steps. Smith’s doorbell video captured footage of an older man named Richard Pulley – dressed in a button up shirt tucked into khakis – gently placing her order at her door and walking away.
She was heartbroken, and quickly went to TikTok to get help:
“TikTok I need your help! Help me find this precious man! He delivered Starbucks to my house today but I need to find him because why is he DoorDashing at his age? He’s so precious, just look at him. He should be retired living his best life.”
@savetheweens931 Tik tok I need your help!!!! Help me find this precious man! He delivered Starbucks to my house today but I need to find him because why is he door dashing at this age! He’s so precious just look at him! He should be retired living his best life😭😭😭 his name is Richard according to the app and this is the Manchester, Tennessee area! #Tennessee#helpmefindhim #letshelphimretire #pleaseshare ♬ original sound – savetheweens931
He really should be retired and living his best life.
Why isn’t he? Because Richard Pulley and his wife, Brenda, have hit hard times. Ever since Brenda lost her job, and with medical bills stacking up, they’ve been working together to make DoorDash deliveries for over a year. Brenda drives the car, and Richard takes the order up to people’s doorstep.
They both said that being past the age of 70 didn’t really leave many other job opportunities available.
Once Richard was identified, and his story was out there, Brittany Smith set up a GoFundMe campaign to try and raise $600,000 so that the couple could actually enjoy their later years instead of grinding to make DoorDash deliveries together:
“My name is Brittany and I am setting up this go fund me for Richard. Richard delivered Starbucks to my home via DoorDash and it was evident from the video this was a task for him. With the help of social media, I was able to track down Richard and learned he does DoorDash due to his wife being fired from her job (at no fault of her own) and by the time they pay their monthly expenses plus purchase their medication there is nothing left. Let’s help Richard go back into retirement!”
As of March 13, the fundraiser has raised over $563,000.
That life changing amount of money will soon go to Richard Pulley and his wife, Brenda. The Tennessee couple is completely overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers, and told WSMV that the kind donation will allow them to live their lives again:
“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. We appreciate every one of them… it’s taking a lot of pressure off of us … and making life livable once again.”
Always great to see the internet come together to do something good.
