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TikTok Star Raises £9,000 To Help Out 89-Year-Old Pizza Delivery Driver

TikTok Star Raises £9,000 To Help Out 89-Year-Old Pizza Delivery Driver

The elderly man was struggling to pay his bills, so the internet helped him out

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A TikTok star gave a $12,000 (£9,000) tip to an 89-year-old pizza delivery man who was struggling to make enough money to pay his bills.

Derlin Newey has bee working delivering pizzas for Papa John's Pizza in Utah in order to supplement his Social Security money, and to make ends meet.

Earlier on this month, fate dealt him an interesting hand when he picked up the order for a popular TikTok creator, Carlos Valdez.

Upon his arrival, Newey had a lovely conversation - all recorded for TikTok, of course - at the doorstep with Valdez and his family.

After the clip went viral, many people questioned why such a nice old man would still be working when he's approaching his 90th birthday.

KSL 5 News

He should be sitting in his slippers, but - as so often is the case - it hasn't worked out quite like that.

So, Mr Valdez decided to use his large TikTok platform for the good, and set up a fundraising page for the old dude, which quickly raised more than $12,000.

Not bad, as far as tips go.

Then, on Tuesday earlier this week, Valdez went around to Mr Newey's mobile home with his wife to drop off the life-changing sum of money to him.

He told the elderly man: "We collectively collected a gift for you, and I'm here to deliver that gift to you on behalf of the TikTok community,"

In the footage, which was filmed on scene by local news station KSL, Mr Newey was obviously overwhelmed by the gesture, and the generosity of strangers.

KSL 5 News

He asked Valdez: "How do I ever say thank you? I don't know what to say,"

The Valdez family said that they hope that Newey uses the money to pay off some of his bills and medical expenses, and that it allows him to work less and enjoy himself a bit more.

At his age, he shouldn't be lugging pizzas around for 30 hours every week.

Yeah, we can all agree with that sentiment.

Mr Valdez told KSL: "This couldn't have gone any better,

"He needed this. I'm just glad we could help him. We just need to treat people with kindness and respect - the way he does. He stole our hearts."

KSL 5 News

Well, if it helps him enjoy something of his remaining time a bit more, then it can only be a good thing.

Even if it was all filmed for TikTok, or is that just being overly cynical?

Featured Image Credit: KSL 5 News

Topics: Inspirational, US News, TikTok