Kevin Keighron and Lacey Klein, the compassionate couple, took action for Gillespie after the incident. Recalling the moment, Keighron recounted, “I open the door and there she is just laying on the ground trying to get up. She was more worried about (the food) than anything else. And I was like, ‘I don’t care about the food. I care about you,'” he shared with Good Morning America.
Following the incident, Klein initiated a fundraiser for Gillespie by launching a GoFundMe page, intending it as a tip for her. Klein explained that they were moved to help Gillespie as they empathized with her situation, revealing that both of their late fathers had retired late in life and passed away from terminal cancer. “It really resonated in our hearts when we saw her (Gillespie) still working at her age and reminded us of both our fathers,” Klein told FOX.
However, the couple couldn’t anticipate the overwhelming response to the fundraiser, surpassing $270,000 by March 2023. “We thought we would get her a bigger tip and bring it to her. We never expected to get as much as we did,” Lacey expressed. “We were just so excited and thrilled (to) be able to tell her the next day.”
When Gillespie received the initial amount raised, she was rendered speechless. Reflecting on the kindness shown to her, she expressed gratitude, stating, “I almost gave up on people because so many people out there today are so mean. And here we got people loving, caring people. They care about someone else… about an elderly woman.”
According to a report from South Carolina State, Gillespie marked her last day at Domino’s Pizza on February 16, 2023. Now, she plans to embark on a cruise and travel around Europe—a well-deserved retirement plan!