There are two types of people in this world: those who would retire the moment a GoFundMe crossed $950,000, and those who would keep working anyway.
Richard Pulley is very much the second type.
The 78-year-old Tennessee delivery driver has become the internet’s favorite person this week, after a customer named Brittany Smith started a GoFundMe to help support him and his wife. What happened next was the kind of thing that restores your faith in humanity, or at least in the part of humanity that isn’t cutting you off on the freeway.
As of Tuesday morning, that fundraiser has climbed to nearly $950,000, with donations pouring in from more than 30,000 people across the country. And DoorDash itself? They threw in an extra $20,000 on top of that, proving that sometimes corporations show up in a big way when it matters.
Doordasher Becomes a Millionaire at 78 Years Old
According to Action News 5, the moment that set all of this in motion was surprisingly simple. Brittany Smith noticed something in her doorbell camera footage that most people might have missed: a man taking his time, steady and focused, making his way up to her door and using the handrail as he completed the delivery.
That man was Richard Pulley.
A Doorbell Camera Moment That Changed Everything
Smith later shared that the moment stuck with her. She has a background working as a CNA and says she has always had a soft spot for older adults and veterans. After seeing the video, she wanted to find him and do something to help.
What she learned added more context. Pulley had been forced out of retirement after his wife unexpectedly lost her job and had turned to DoorDash to help cover basic expenses. We are not talking about extra spending money here. Pulley said the work was helping pay monthly bills, including medication for both him and his wife.
DoorDash representatives personally called Pulley to thank him for his nearly 6,000 deliveries, which, if you’re keeping score at home, means this man has been quietly hustling while most people his age are on their third episode of Wheel of Fortune by noon. No shade to the Wheel crowd, but Richard is built different.
A DoorDash spokesperson said the story is “a powerful reminder of how dashing can bring communities together, while helping people earn extra money to make life easier.” And honestly? Hard to argue with that.
Even With $950K, He’s Not Slowing Down
Now here is the part that will make you put down your phone and stare at the ceiling for a moment. Even with a nest egg approaching seven figures, Richard says he is not stopping. DoorDash shared that he plans to keep on dashing as long as he can because it keeps him active and because he genuinely enjoys it.
In interviews, Pulley kept it simple. The support, he said, is taking “a lot of pressure” off him and his wife and is “making life livable once again.” He also admitted it is “really difficult to believe” that so many people would step up to help.
Pulley and his wife have been married for more than 56 years, and what started as a quiet moment captured on a doorbell camera has turned into something much bigger: more than 30,000 people collectively deciding this is someone worth helping.
At 78 years old, nearly 6,000 deliveries in, Richard Pulley is still showing up. That alone says a lot.
Brittany Smith, the customer who started it all, also received a gift from DoorDash for setting off this chain reaction of generosity, proof that sometimes tipping your driver, literally and figuratively, really does pay off for everyone.