{"id":689987,"date":"2026-03-29T10:53:48","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T10:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/689987\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T10:53:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T10:53:48","slug":"i-wish-i-didnt-have-to-do-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/689987\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I wish I didn\u2019t have to do it\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

An elderly Texas veteran<\/a> was forced out of retirement and now delivers takeout on DoorDash so that his family can afford healthcare \u2014 an increasingly common reality for many older Americans<\/a> struggling to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

Larry Phillip Colvin, a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran, started delivering food in Mabank, about an hour southeast of Dallas, because his Social Security benefits <\/a>couldn\u2019t stretch to cover the medical bills of his wife,<\/a> who requires surgery, and his son, who suffers from several autoimmune diseases, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Social Security just wasn\u2019t cutting it anymore,\u201d Colvin told KTVT.<\/a>. \u201cI had to do something, and I can\u2019t hold down a regular job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colvin, who will turn 77 in May, works every night of the week except for Wednesday, when he attends church.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I didn\u2019t have to do it at night,\u201d he said, before adding he does \u201cbecause that\u2019s when you make money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colvin caught the attention of Savannah Saulters, who ordered pizza on DoorDash on March 14, and was shocked to discover that the deliveryman was elderly and wearing a veteran\u2019s cap. She has since launched a GoFundMe campaign for the vet – and has seen an outpouring of support with more than $50,000 in donations.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas veteran Larry Phillip Colvin, 76, has been forced out of retirement and now delivers takeout for DoorDash to help cover his family\u2019s medical bills. (GoFundMe)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere should be no reason that a 76-year-old man is delivering my pizza at 10:30 at night time. That should not be happening,\u201d Saulters said.<\/p>\n

Saulters took to social media to try to identify her delivery driver \u2014 and then learned that Colvin had been retired from his job as a repairman for 10 years.<\/p>\n

The veteran\u2019s daughter-in-law, Donna Colvin, said the gig work had been taking a toll on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s very hard on him. I think he\u2019s almost 77 years old, and it\u2019s gotta take a toll somewhere,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Moved by his story, Saulters started a GoFundMe<\/a> for Colvin\u2019s family in the hope that it could help him ditch the delivery job.<\/p>\n

\"Colvin<\/p>\n

Colvin had been retired for 10 years and says his Social Security benefits weren\u2019t enough to cover his wife and son\u2019s medical expenses. A GoFundMe appeal has raised more than $50,000 for Colvin. (KTVT)<\/p>\n

\u201cMany in our community have met [Colvin] through their orders, and his kindness and dedication have left a lasting impression,\u201d Saulters wrote in the fundraiser.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo parent should have to choose between earning a living and being there for their sick child. That\u2019s why I\u2019m starting this fundraiser \u2014 to help this devoted father take time off from DoorDash so he can focus on what matters most: Caring for his son,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Saulters added: \u201cThe funds raised will give him the breathing room he needs to be present for his family during this difficult time, without the added stress of late-night shifts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colvin\u2019s family has been moved by the gesture, telling the outlet it has already helped them \u201ctremendously.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI say, \u2018God bless that lady,\u2019\u201d Colvin said. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful. It\u2019ll help pay off some bills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colvin\u2019s situation has become an increasingly more common scenario for many older Americans struggling to pay their medical bills and other expenses. Earlier this month, a similar scenario unfolded in Tennessee when Brittany Smith noticed a 78-year-old man<\/a> named Richard \u201cstruggling\u201d to climb the stairs while delivering her DoorDash order.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A similar scenario unfolded in Tennessee after a woman launched a GoFundMe for a 78-year-old man named Richard, a DoorDash driver she saw ‘struggling’ to deliver an order. (Brittany Smith)<\/p>\n

Smith discovered her daughter\u2019s father, who is quadriplegic and often has things sent to the house for her, had ordered Starbucks for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was actually mad about it, because he often orders Starbucks for her, but we try to do it as more of a reward, and this was the third time he had ordered for her in the week,\u201d she told The Independent. \u201cSo, I see the Ring doorbell go off, and I’m like, you’ve got to be kidding me, he had Starbucks sent again.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Smith clicked on the Ring doorbell app, she saw a \u201clittle old man walking up the steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis poor guy is struggling to get up my stairs to deliver my very capable daughter her Starbucks,\u201d she said. \u201cMy daughter’s dad is a quadriplegic, so he often has things sent to the house because he can’t physically go get them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith tracked the driver down to get him a bigger tip, and later started a GoFundMe titled \u201cGive Richard a Chance to Rest Again,\u201d which had raised over $968,000 as of Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An elderly Texas veteran was forced out of retirement and now delivers takeout on DoorDash so that his…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":689988,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[35],"tags":[289171,16286,210,1141,1142,289170,46442,289175,289174,41272,289172,67,132,68,289173],"class_list":["post-689987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-donna-colvin","tag-doordash","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-larry-phillip-colvin","tag-medical-bills","tag-saulters","tag-savannah-saulters","tag-social-security-benefits","tag-texas-veteran","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-vietnam-veteran"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116312094193759248","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=689987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/689988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=689987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=689987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=689987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}