Most jobs requiring physical labor can be rough when you get older, but that didn’t deter one senior citizen from Tennessee, who had to become a DoorDash driver to survive with his wife. Thankfully, he caught the attention of a Good Samaritan, and the old man’s struggle has since gone viral, leading to a GoFundMe retirement fundraiser that has raised more than $500,000 at the time of writing.
Richard Pulley is the senior citizen in question, and he’s from Manchester, Tennessee. Earlier in March, Pulley delivered some Starbucks to a customer named Brittany Smith, though Smith noticed that the old man was walking slowly and even struggled to bend down to place the food on the porch. Needless to say, Smith was concerned for Pulley, so she tracked him, with the intention of helping the old man.
“With the help of social media I was able to track down Richard and learned he does DoorDash due to his wife being fired from her job (at no fault of her own),” alleged Smith, and she added that “by the time they pay their monthly expenses plus purchase their medication there is nothing left.” Hence, Smith set up the GoFundMe page, asking people to “Let’s help Richard go back into retirement!!”
Now, the GoFundMe page has nearly reached its goal of $600,000, with some generous people even chipping in $2,000 casually. It’s not clear what kind of job Pulley’s wife held before she was fired, but the man’s struggle has tugged on people’s heartstrings, with some commenters even saying, “Mr Richard reminds me of my late great grandfather. He was such a light and loved his wife so much. I wish I could leave more but I am so happy to see so many helping out our elderly!”
People Online are Blaming the System
Pulley was fortunate that someone genuinely concerned saw and was willing to help him; some people online were, nevertheless, heartbroken that the senior citizen had to go through something this particular kind of struggle at his age. “Retirement shouldn’t look like this. Our system is broken,” one commenter ranted, further adding, “I’m glad to see the community coming together to help, but it’s also heartbreaking to witness the real struggles many people face in their golden years after a lifetime of hard work.”
Others were also concerned about how many people are similar to Richard Pulley, as there’s a worryingly growing trend of senior citizens or older people being forced out of retirement due to the rising cost of living in the US. “How many guys like “Richard” are in this situation and will never have this chance ! Sad observation 🤨.”
