Derlin Newey, an 89-year-old pizza delivery man for Papa John’s received a very pleasant surprise from his regular customers, the Valdez family, in the form of a $12,000 tip!
Newey works around 30 hours a week for Papa John’s in Roy, Utah. He began the job after realising that it was unsustainable for him to live off social security alone. But this month he delivered a pizza to TikTok creator Carlos Valdez. Valdez recorded his interactions with Newey and posted them online before he went on to create a fundraiser for his favourite pizza guy to help ease his financial burden.
The fundraiser was created on Venmo and within just a few days it has reached a staggering $12,069. Last week, Valdez and his wife went to Newey’s home to give him his very generous tip. Newey was completely surprised by this gift and even said that he did not know what TikTok was. The Valdez family hope that this money can help Newey with his bills and medical care, so that hopefully he will not have to work so many hours at his job, something that is unusual for a man of his age.
Whilst this story is incredibly heartwarming, many have taken to the internet to complain about the state of America’s social security system.
However, this kind gesture from the Valdez family has proved that there are some still good people out there.
“He needed this. I’m just glad we could help him,” said Valdez. “We just need to treat people with kindness and respect the way he does. He stole our hearts.”And if the cash wasn’t enough, the family sweetened the surprise with a T-shirt that read, “Hello, are you looking for some pizza?”
If you enjoy reading about wholesome news that relates to pizza, then you should check out our article about a man who received a decade’s worth of free pizza.
