Every person we meet is a chance to pay kindness forward.
No matter who it is – even a total stranger – can be someone you can lend a helping hand. It can be as simple as helping an elderly cross the street, befriend a stranger, or giving something out to someone who needs it.
So, when Carlos Valdez grew fond of their favorite pizza delivery guy, he knew he had to step up.
Carlos and his wife love Papa John’s Pizza, but there’s only one branch they constantly get their pizzas from. No, it’s not just a simple form of loyalty to the store. They grew fond of one pizza delivery guy – and so did Carlos’s TikTok followers.
89-year-old Derlin Newey has been delivering pizza in Carlos’s place long before.
He had this adorable disposition, especially how he always greeted them with, “Hello, are you looking for some pizza?” His greeting comes as something unique and refreshing to everyone’s ears. Until one time, Carlos posted a TikTok video during one of Derlin’s deliveries.
This video caught the hearts of many, and people started asking questions about Derlin.
One of the most frequent questions that also struck Carlos was why an 89-year-old man was still working for pizza delivery. People asked if anybody was taking care of Derlin or why he still needed to earn some money.
This gave Carlos an idea to raise some funds for Derlin.
@vendingheadsReply to @victoriagomezz.1 Let’s do the Venmo Challenge Tip For Our Amazing Pizza 🍕 Man @lexylately if you would like to help #Venmo challenge♬ original sound – Valdez’s
He set up a Venmo account for this, and his aim was just a few hundred dollars, a tip of 50 cents to a dollar from his followers. But he didn’t expect how the entire TikTok community came together to help their favorite pizza delivery guy.
They raised more than $12,000! It’s incredible what an appreciative community can do!
Now, it’s time for Carlos to knock on Derlin’s door for a special delivery. When Derlin and his wife arrived, they knocked just like Derlin would knock on their front door when he delivered pizza. He has that specific tune that people also grew to love.
Derlin welcomed the couple into his house.
He innocently thought they’d simply give him a t-shirt (which they did); he did not know he was in it for a bigger, better surprise.
He couldn’t believe it when they gave him the money.
Carlos explained how he got a lot of fans and supporters who just wanted to give back and thank him for his hard work. Derlin doesn’t even know what TikTok is but is grateful for all their kindness, nonetheless.
It was also during the said visit that the people’s question was finally answered.
It turns out that Derlin lives alone and must earn to pay for the bills because he can’t pay it from social security alone. He also said that he works around 30 hours a week to make ends meet. With the $12,000, people hope he doesn’t have to work that much anymore.
Carlos also set up a Venmo account for Derlin where people can donate money that will go straight to Derlin’s account.
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