When a generous family witnessed their 72-year-old pizza delivery driver collapse while delivering their pizza, they raised more than $270,000 to assist her in retiring.
Lacey Klein and her husband, Kevin, had ordered dinner from a Domino in Berkeley County, South Carolina when they heard a disturbance outside as the delivery guy approached their front door. They noticed a woman laying on the ground while viewing their front entrance camera.
Barbara Gillespie, 72, had been carrying a bag and several boxes as she slowly approached the front door, and as she attempted to climb the first porch step, she collapsed, and she, together with the boxes of food, fell to the ground.
Kevin, a paramedic who works for the local fire department, opened the front door and asked Barbara if she was okay as he came to her side to help her stand up.
“Sorry,” Barbara said, as she seemed more concerned about having dropped their food than she was about her own personal well-being.
Kevin and Lacey weren’t concerned about the meal, but they did feel sympathy for Barbara, who was working so hard for her age.
“When I see someone her age that is still having to work, not just because they want to, but because they have to… [when] I see something like that happen, it just really upset me,” Lacey emotionally shared.
Kevin and Lacey agreed the next day that they wanted to assist Barbara. They published a video on Facebook showing their modest delivery driver falling on their porch and being more concerned about their food than herself and requested friends and family to donate what they could so that they could tip Barbara.
“Hi, my name is Lacey and my husband and I are trying to fundraise for our Dominos delivery driver Barbara,” the GoFundMe reads. “Today she took a rough fall on our front porch while delivering our food. We would like to bless her by bringing a “tip” to help her with anything she may need. She is an older woman who fell and only cared about the food she dropped. Let’s show her some kindness and take off some of this burden. Thank you all ❤️”
Many generous people responded to their message by donating to Barbara, and within 24 hours, more than $50,000 had been raised. Kevin, Lacey, and their two girls surprised Barbara at work with flowers and chocolates, and then told her about the GoFundMe account and added her to it.
When Barbara heard of what they and many kind hearts had done, she was speechless and stood in disbelief.
“I was so awestruck,” Barbara said. “I thought I was in a dream. I still, today, have to keep pinching me.”
“I couldn’t even think… they were asking me for my phone number… I couldn’t remember my phone number, I am just standing there, and tears are welling in my eyes, and I am going, “I can’t believe this… this isn’t happening to me…”
Barbara herself had been feeling down about the fall, but this deeply beautiful blessing was just what she needed.
“When I fell, I was thinking, ‘I didn’t need this… this is going to make things so much worse..’ [referring to her health] but then all of this happened, and what I want to say is God can take a bad situation and turn it into a good situation, he can bless people, if they would just trust in him.”
The GoFundMe has grown to more than $270,000, and Kevin and Lacey are hoping that Barbara will now retire and spend more time with her grandkids.
“We want her to retire right now,” they said. “Stop working and enjoy her grandkids, her kids, her great-great-grandkids. Go on a cruise, take a vacation, whatever she wants to do.”