TikTok stardom is a coveted goal for many young people today, but an 89-year-old pizza delivery man has outshined them all with a life-changing act of kindness from his regular customers. Derlin Newey, a pizza delivery driver from Roy, Utah, received an astounding $12,069 tip thanks to the generosity of his TikTok community.
NBC affiliate KSL reported that Newey, who works 30 hours a week for Papa John’s Pizza, took the job to supplement his income as his social security was insufficient to cover his monthly expenses.
One of his customers, Carlos Valdez, began recording Newey’s cheerful deliveries to his family’s front door and sharing them on TikTok. Newey became a fan favorite among Valdez’s 53,000 followers, known for his signature greeting, “Hello, are you looking for some pizza?”
“It’s insane. Everybody loves him,” said Valdez, noting that many of his followers were upset that Newey had to work so hard at his age. “Somebody at that age should not be working that much.”
Inspired by the comments, the Valdez family decided to crowdsource funds from their followers to support Newey.
“Collectively, as a TikTok community, we all came together and raised $12,000 for this amazing person,” Valdez shared.
With the help of KSL, the Valdez family made a special surprise delivery to Newey at his home.
“How do I ever say thank you? I don’t know what to say,” said an emotional Newey. “I don’t know what to say, except thank you.”
“This couldn’t have gone any better,” 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.”
Newey was thrilled to receive the gift but was curious about TikTok, asking, “Is that an online group you communicate with each other through the telephone?”