Despite receiving nearly $1 million in donations, 78-year-old Richard Pulley, a dedicated DoorDash driver, has no plans to retire just yet.
Pulley’s life took a remarkable turn when he was presented with a check totaling $965,868 last Friday. This windfall followed a viral video that featured him diligently delivering a Starbucks order up a flight of stairs in Eastern Tennessee.
The clip, posted by customer Brittany Smith, highlighted Pulley’s exceptional dedication and was captured by her Ring doorbell camera.
The heartwarming video quickly captivated viewers, prompting many strangers to contribute to a fundraising campaign designed to ease the financial burden on Pulley and his wife, Brenda, who often accompanies him on deliveries.
“My wife used to work for an insurance company, but they let her go,” Pulley revealed to TODAY.com, explaining that despite receiving Social Security, they struggled to cover her medication and other expenses.
“When she lost her job, it put a real strain on our finances. I had gotten a bit complacent after turning 65 and retiring, but suddenly, I had to get back to work,” he shared.
Pulley dove headfirst into gig work, completing nearly 6,000 DoorDash orders, often with Brenda riding shotgun.
The work gave him purpose and a reason to keep moving, even as viral fame caught up with him.
“The last couple of shifts have worked out hard because people stop and take pictures with me and all sorts of things,” he said. “I’ll get back to work in the next few days.”
Despite the overwhelming generosity of strangers, Pulley says the work itself is part of why he keeps going.
“They’ve set my wife and I up so that we can live a more comfortable life, but after a week or two of this and it cools down, we’ll get back to work because I feel good being useful,” he said.
The fundraiser, titled “Give Richard a Chance to Rest Again,” has drawn more than 32,000 donations, including a $20,000 contribution from DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, who praised Pulley for his thousands of deliveries.
Smith, who helped spark the campaign, joined the couple at a local burger joint last week to show them the impact of the donations.
Married for over 56 years, the Pulleys were left stunned by the outpouring of generosity.
“It’s just really difficult to believe that there’s that many people that are that generous to try to help us,” Pulley told WSMV. “It’s taking a lot of pressure off us and making life livable once again.”
Brenda added, “Sometimes you look at all the bills you need to pay … if [you] don’t, you going to end up in the hospital with something even more expensive.”
