Now that most people are on home quarantine, everyday life seems to be limited to within the scope of the four corners of their homes. The pandemic is also one of the main reasons why people are now on their social media accounts a whole lot more.
Over the past few months, since the coronavirus outbreak, aside from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, one social media platform, in particular, soared in popularity- TikTok.
According to Wikipedia, TikTok is a Chinese social networking service owned by ByteDance (a Chinese company). The platform is used to create and share music, lip-sync, comedy, dance, and other talent videos.
It was originally released in the Chinese market back in September 2016 and launched for iOS and Android in most markets outside of mainland China back in 2017. It only became available worldwide, including the United States, back on August 2, 2018, after merging with another Chinese social media service, Musical.ly.
These platforms like TikTok are becoming more than just a venue for socializing and entertainment.
Just recently, TikTok user @vendingheads owned by Carlos Valdez, totally changed an 89-year-old man’s life.
The senior’s name is Derlin Newey and he is a Papa John’s pizza delivery driver.
He lives in Utah and is working 30-hours a week because he can’t pay his bills on his social security alone.
One of Derlin’s regular customers is the Valdez family.
They thought that a man of his age shouldn’t be out on the streets, especially during a pandemic. Though that was the case, they were still amazed by the old man’s positivity and friendliness.
He is just a super bright, friendly pizza delivery guy!
His signature delivery line is always the same- “Hello, are you looking for some pizza?”
Because of his positive attitude, they have been personally asking for Derlin with each delivery since then. Newey wasn’t just a delivery guy to them, he is a friend.
When they shared the first video online, the internet went wild and expressed how they love Derlin.
The TikTok video has been viewed over 480,000 times. Surprisingly, the second video got 2.7 million views and the rest was history.
With Carlos’ huge fanbase of 71.3K, they decided to give Derlin a helping hand.
They came up with an idea to ask the TikTok community for donations and they were shocked by the results!
One day, when they had collected the donations, Carlos and his family went to Derlin’s place to deliver the good news themselves.
They handed him a single check signed by “TikTok Family” with the donations amounting to a total of $12,069!
He didn’t even know what TikTok was, but he’s beyond thankful for what he received from them.
He told CNN:
“I don’t know what to say, except thank you.”
Together with the cash donations, they also presented him with a personalized shirt that read: “Hello, are you looking for some pizza?”
With the help of Carlos, his family, and the people on the internet, they were able to help Derlin in a tremendous way.
Carlos Valdez said:
“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.”
Some people even questioned why a man of his age still needed to work instead of just enjoying retirement at home.
The answer is pretty simple, the average social security benefit of one person is simply not enough. It can’t cover all the bills, buying home essentials, and everyday expenses.
Carlos’ message couldn’t be more timely, especially during these trying times. More than anything else, we need kindness, respect, and love.
Thanks to the Valdez family and the TikTok community, Derlin may now have some days off from delivering pizzas.
Watch the video below to see how Carlos and the TikTok community surprised their friendly neighborhood pizza delivery guy.
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