A family has raised over $250,000 for a pizza delivery driver who fell and was injured while delivering their food. The incident was caught on the family’s home security video, and the footage went viral on TikTok, with over 3 million views.
In the video, Kevin Kreighton, the homeowner, found 72-year-old Barbara Gillespie was seen on security video struggling to get up after a fall while apologizing for dropping the food.
Kreighton and his wife, Lacey Klein, rushed to help the woman and reassured her that it was fine. “I open the door, and there she is, just lying on the ground trying to get up,” Kreighton said.
“She was more worried about the food than anything else, and I was like, ‘I don’t care about the food. I care about you.'”
The couple set up a GoFundMe for Barbara to give her an “extra tip.” More than 14,000 people donated, leaving the elderly woman with over $250,000.
“We thought we would get her a bigger tip and bring it to her. We never expected to get as much as we did,” Klein said. “We were just so excited and thrilled [to] be able to tell her the next day.”
Barbara said she had worked for Domino’s for five and a half years and didn’t expect such kindness from strangers.
“I almost gave up on people because so many people out there today are so mean,” said Barbara. “And here we got people loving, caring people. They care about someone else, about an elderly woman.”
Domino’s is grateful for the blessings poured on one of its employees. They said Barbara was honored as the company’s Team Member of The Year for 2022.
She is also a favorite of their customers because she is always cheerful and smiling.
While the community’s kindness towards Barbara is commendable, what was caught on security video also raised a concern regarding elderly workers. Many people past their retirement age still work in different establishments.
Barbara is so grateful for strangers’ donations. She announced her retirement plans to ABC News on February 8, and she gave Domino’s two weeks’ notice the same day.
Kleins’ description of Barbara’s GoFundMe says, “Let’s show her some kindness and take off some of this burden that our economy is causing the older generations especially.”
The couple said they both saw their fathers work hard until their deaths. They now consider Barbara a family member and don’t want her to end up like their fathers.
“We want her to retire right now,” said Klein. “Stop working and enjoy her grandkids, her kids, her great-great-grandkids. Go on a cruise, take a vacation, whatever she wants to do, but not do something that’s physically not good for her.”
There have been several successful retirement-related initiatives launched in recent months.
For instance, a TikTok video featuring an 82-year-old Walmart employee became popular, and strangers donated almost $133,000.
There have been a lot of fundraisers lately to help people save money for retirement, GoFundMe told “GMA.”
“Our community has created a ripple effect of good by starting fundraisers to help people reach their well-deserved retirement,” GoFundMe stated, adding that they are humbled by the kindness, empathy, and generosity shown by so many in their community during this time.
“We wish Barbara the best in her retirement,” the statement concluded.
Americans have been delaying retirement over the past three decades. The median retirement age in 1991 was 57, according to a Gallup poll from 2022; by 2022, it had risen to 61. The target retirement age for non-retirees rose from 60 in 1995 to 66 in 2022.
The Office of Disability Employment Policy attributes this trend to a “confluence of factors” keeping more people of retirement age in the labor force.
“The economic downturn, shifting perceptions of retirement, increased workplace flexibility, and the aging of the ‘baby boom’ generation are all contributing to people working longer,” the U.S. Department of Labor reported.
Meanwhile, organizations like the AARP Foundation provide services and assistance to older persons, particularly those who are low-income, to help them obtain the necessities, such as suitable employment, eligibility for benefits, important refunds, and maintaining social connections, according to their website.
Return to Work 50+, Work for Yourself at 50+, and the Senior Community Service Employment Program are just a few of AARP’s employment-related initiatives that have seen an uptick in demand, according to the foundation’s vice president, Mindy Feldbaum.
Imagine how a security video can change someone else’s life. Watch their video below.
Here’s the full video of the unfortunate fall:
View this post on Instagram