Almost $1,000,000 raised for elderly couple who were DoorDashing to make ends meet
It's a rare moment when social media comes together to do something good for once, yet that's exactly what happened when people discovered an elderly couple who were still delivering through DoorDash in order to make ends meet.
The cost of living crisis and growing wealth gap have left many people scraping by paycheck to paycheck these days, and it's often difficult if not impossible to save a meaningful amount of money.
Unfortunately the nature of retirement in the United States means that you have to prepare for your entire life to ensure relaxation in your twilight years, and some aren't quite as fortunate as others when it comes to the funds they have available.
While the full retirement age in the United States is 67, people have spotted an elderly couple who have been forced to continue working well past this point, deciding to do something major to help them out.
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As reported by Dexerto, TikTok user Brittany Smith (@savetheweens931) ordered a Starbucks using food delivery app DoorDash, and noticed something unexpected through her Ring Doorbell camera.
Sharing the footage to social media, the video shows 78-year-old Nashville resident Richard Pulley delivering the drink, with his wife, Brenda, driving him around to various locations.
Following an interview with the elderly couple, it was revealed that they had to start delivering via DoorDash after Brenda lost her job, pulling Richard out of retirement and into the gig economy.
Many people resonated with their story and hardship, and in response Brittany decided to start up a GoFundMe titled 'Give Richard a Chance to Rest Again' in an attempt to help them back into retirement.
The fundraiser received over $300,000 in donations across the first 24 hours, with an initial goal of $650,000. However, it has since exceeded that considerably, and currently sits at $960,769 at the time of writing.
This should hopefully be more than enough to let both Richard and Brenda retire in peace, with DoorDash itself even chipping in with a $20,000 donation after the couple completed over 6,000 deliveries through the service.
In a statement to Dexerto, a spokesperson for DoorDash noted that "Richard's dedication to supporting himself and his wife is truly inspiring. Like many others, we were moved by his story and the outpouring of support from people across the country.
"It's also a powerful reminder of how dashing can bring communities together, while helping people earn extra money to make life easier."
Speaking to WSMV, Brenda revealed that it is "just really difficult to believe that there's that many people that are that generous to try and help us. People don't even know us."
Her husband Richard added that the pair "appreciate every one of them, it's taking a lot of pressure off of us and making life liveable once again."