The news can be awfully heavy these days. I know I like to take breaks, and I assume you do, too. If you don't, I highly encourage it (after you've read PJ Media, of course). With that in mind, I've decided to try something a little new. On Fridays, I'm going to share with you a "feel-good" story from the week that touched my heart and helped me remember that there are still good people out there in the world, and I hope you enjoy these stories, too.
If you've ever ordered food or grocery delivery from a company like DoorDash, you understand that you never know who will deliver your stuff. It could be a young college student trying to make some extra cash, a single mom who needed something to do that would allow her to bring her baby along, or just someone who enjoys the hustle of making his own hours and sort of being his own boss. To be honest, though, I think most of us rarely know who exactly is dropping our food off because we opt to have them leave it at the door. I know I do.
Brittany Smith of Tennessee used DoorDash last week to place an order from Starbucks. From her Ring doorbell camera, she saw that her delivery driver was an elderly man. He moved slowly and struggled a bit on the stairs to get up to her porch. That left her wondering why a man his age was out delivering food when he should be enjoying retirement. She wanted to leave him a bigger tip than she had, but the DoorDash app wouldn't allow her to do so, so she took to social media.
NEW: Internet users raised over $280,000 for an elderly man who started delivering DoorDash to help cover bills after his wife lost her job and their health insurance. 🥹
— David J Harris Jr (@DavidJHarrisJr) March 12, 2026
A Tennessee woman who saw him on her Ring camera delivering Starbucks tracked him down and helped launch the… pic.twitter.com/x1ngN7cncU
Another woman in the community reached out to Brittany and told her that the man often delivered food to her house and that his name was Richard. So Brittany did some detective work, Googled him, found his address, and she and her daughter drove to his house with $200. She knocked on the door and explained the situation. She said he looked horrified, but she gave him the money and explained to him that "God really told us that we needed to bless you today."
"He asked us so many times: 'Are you sure? Did you mean to give me this money? Can you afford it? Are you going to be okay if you give me this money?'" Brittany said.
When she told him that she could afford it, he thanked her and explained to her that he was technically retired, but his wife had lost her job and their health insurance, and now they spent everything they had on their medications and healthcare and struggled to cover their monthly expenses. He said that delivering food was the only way he could figure out how to contribute to their income at his age — he's 78.
The next day, someone else in their neighborhood sent Brittany a video of Richard back out delivering food at night in the rain. She said he struggled to navigate the steps on that person's porch, as well, and she decided that she needed to do something.
Brittany started a GoFundMe for Richard, thinking she might raise a little extra money for him, and as I'm typing this on Friday, March 20, over 32,800 people have donated, and she's raised a total of $965,659. That includes a $20,000 donation from the CEO of DoorDash himself, Tony Xu.
Despite the fact that Brittany has nearly made him a millionaire, a very grateful Richard said he doesn't plan to totally give up his food delivery gig. He said he enjoys it for the most part, and plus, it keeps him active.
Either way, kudos to Brittany for taking the time to take care of someone she didn't even know, especially an older person down on his luck. Our senior citizens deserve all the respect and kindness we can give them, but sadly, they don't always receive it, so it makes me happy to see someone step up like this.
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