“DoorDash Dale” community unites in support of Vietnam Veteran

TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) — A chance encounter with a handicapped DoorDash driver leads to an outpouring of support from the community.

“We ordered DoorDash and I got a notification that our order had been delivered, so I opened the door and there’s no order and I was like, OK.” says Ashley Cooper, “Well then I see a little white car in the driveway in the parking area and I see a little man trying to get out with a cane.”

That man was Dale Culbreath. He is a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran, and despite the fact that he is handicapped and needs a cane or a walker to get around, he works as a DoorDash driver.

“Once I got inside, I just was trying to figure out is he DoorDashing because he wants to, or is he Doordashing because he has to” says Ashley.

It had in fact not been a part of dale’s plan to start DoorDashing. Before going back to work he had actually been in college.

“I was one subject away from graduating when I decided to quit. I really felt that that I needed to do it right away because I knew my health was failing on me.” says Dale.

Ashley did not know Dale’s story but her encounter with him left an impression. She took to social media asking if anyone else had seen ‘DoorDash Dale‘. Eventually word got back around to dale that she had been looking for him. So he left her a letter, thanking her for the tip she had given him and telling her a little about himself.

“That I was a veteran, and that I was a Christian, and then I was handicapped, and that I wasn’t a wealthy person,” says Dale, “and the reason that I was still DoorDashing was to pay for a funeral.”

“Once I read it and processed it I was like, okay, I’m gonna help him pay for his funeral,” says Ashley.

Ashley created a GoFundMe page and spread the word about Dale’s story on social media. In response, the community donated over $17,000 in just a few short weeks.

“Whenever I did it, I did it for him and I thought, we’ll just get these services paid for, but now I’ve got a friend for life. He texts me every morning if I haven’t heard from him he texts me in the evening and so it’s been really nice to gain a friend through this because I’m really just a stranger from the Internet..” says Ashley.

She says that she has been working with GoFundMe, a lawyer, and a banker to ensure that the money donated is put into a trust for Dale. You can find a link to the GoFundMe page here.