Among the donations for Richard Pulley is $20,000 from DoorDash CEO Tony Xu
NEED TO KNOW
- A woman set up a GoFundMe campaign for an elderly man after watching doorbell footage of him delivering her DoorDash order
- Shortly after the fundraising page was established, it reached over $500,000 in donations — and that amount is now close to being doubled
- Among the donations for Richard Pulley, 78, is $20,000 from DoorDash CEO Tony Xu
A woman set up a GoFundMe campaign for an elderly man after watching doorbell footage of him delivering her DoorDash order. Now, the fundraising page is nearing a major milestone of $1 million.
Richard Pulley dropped off a Starbucks order at Brittany Smith's Tennessee home on Tuesday, March 10. In doorbell camera footage, Richard, 78, could be seen using a handrail to walk up to Smith's stoop, before he carefully placed the order in front of her door.
Smith shared the video on social media and put out a plea to find the man, and a day later, on March 11, she set up a GoFundMe. Within days, it reached over $500,000 in donations.
Now, less than two weeks since the fundraising page was established, it is close to doubling that amount.
Among the donations is $20,000 from DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, who also sent a "a smaller gift" to Smith to thank her for being a loyal customer, the company said in a news release obtained by PEOPLE.
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Richard, a former insurance salesman, was retired for 15 years. He started working with DoorDash more than a year ago, after his wife, Brenda, lost her job, the company said.
In the time since, Richard has worked for DoorDash full-time, completing nearly 6,000 deliveries. His wife will often accompany him during his shifts, according to DoorDash.
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In Smith's initial social media plea shared on Facebook, she wrote, “Help me find this precious man! Why is he having to DoorDash 😭😭😭 his name is Richard! Help me find him.”
A later update shared by Smith revealed that she located her delivery driver. “He is precious and he is not working because he wants to,” she wrote. “He’s working [because] becaue he has to.”
Richard and Brenda eventually met up with Smith, who was accompanied by her daughter.
During their get-together, Smith told Richard about the fundraising page and how much people from all different walks of life had donated to help him out.
When DoorDash CEO Xu heard of the GoFundMe, he knew he also had to take part in making a donation of his own.
“Richard’s dedication to supporting himself and his wife is truly inspiring," Xu — who is also the co-founder of the online food delivery service — said.
"Like many others, we were moved by his story and the outpouring of support from people across the country," he added. "It’s also a powerful reminder of how dashing can bring communities together, while helping people earn extra money to make life easier."
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