You’ve heard of stories of delivery customers financially helping delivery staff, and literally changing their lives, and here’s another one.
This story is not merely a serendipitous moment, but a wrong-turn-gone-a-grace-and-blessing for this 87-year-old Dasher, that’s right, over the retirement age, and still delivering.
Joe Symonds hails from Washington, and has spent 2025 and a half this year delivering for DoorDash.
It started when he arrived at the wrong home during his delivery, and you cannot just blame him.
One of his deliveries took him to Alyona Dikiy’s home in Vancouver, Washington. Dikiy was cleaning her garage at that time when she noticed Symonds appearing disoriented, lost, and struggling.
So, she started a conversation with him from where she found out he was 87 years old already.
“You couldn’t imagine that being your own grandpa or grandma who is doing that,” Dikiy chatted with Ridesharing Forum.
He didn’t want this awkward situation, but he’s here anyway, so he shared with Dikiy how he did DoorDash deliveries to help pay off his debts and cover essential expenses, including the all-important medications and maintenance for him. He did not want to sound like as if begging to bring in the woman’s conscience up to the table.
“I’ve had a few issues on flat ground where I’ve managed to trip myself and fall down,” stated Symonds. “Fortunately, nothing serious has happened.”
Dikiy was moved by the story, so she, lo and behold, handed Symonds $100 in cash and told him to take some rest and not work in the remaining hours that day.
Like the Tennessee woman in a previous report here, Dikiy also started a GoFundMe account to help fund this man, and help him retire.
In that report, the Tennessee woman was Brittany Smith, who shared online a Ring camera clip of her DoorDash driver, Richard, who brought her her Starbucks order, and briefly concluded that he’s having a hard time. Initially, the media never revealed his age, until later when they stated he’s about to retire. Sometimes, face doesn’t tell the age.
“Once it was at $400, I was like, ‘Joe, we’re at like $400! You can take a couple days off!’” recalled Dikiy. “Then it just kept going up and up and up.”
The most recent recording of ridesharing media on how much the fundraising has accumulated, it’s already surpassed $30,000, and donations are pouring in from global sources.
“I think you’re the kindest, most fantastic people that I could imagine,” the Dasher told Ridesharing Forum. "I never thought there were people like that – people who would donate to a complete stranger they had never met. It’s mind-blowing, the whole thing… she’s my angel.”
Was that a tear-jerker? Share your thoughts with the community by creating your account today. This has been Ridesharing Forum! ‘Til next time!