It is often said that a little kindness goes a long way. Either done from pure, unadulterated altruism or for extra karmic points, going out of your way to do something wholesome, especially on Christmas, a time of miracles, can do wonders. Dallen Harrell's story, a 24-year-old UPS driver who took a minute out of his busy day to congratulate a recent customer of his, who is a new mother of a newborn baby, is a heartwarming testament to this.
"If this is the 'It's a Boy' house... I hope all is going well with your newborn," Dallen said into the home's doorbell camera, wishing Jessica's family happy holidays after remembering an oversized stork lawn sign outside the same house earlier in November. "I was just so blown away by the fact... that he took the time to stop and do it, and more so that he was so observant that he remembered this," told the 36-year-old mother from Roswell, Georgia.
Of course, Dallen, a singer by the night and an altruist by nature, didn't expect anything in return. "I'd give someone the shirt off my back, and the last change in my cup holder," he explained. But since the 26-second clip reached the hearts of more than 95k Instagram users after Jessica shared this wholesome act with her followers, a new friendship wasn't the only thing Dallen received in return for showing how people should treat each other.
A video of Dallen Harrell, a 24-year-old UPS driver from Atlanta, went viral after he left a heart-melting message to one of his recent customers on their doorbell's camera
Image credits: lghtsknn
Remembering the house he served earlier in November, Dallen, a recent father himself, went out of his way to congratulate the family on the arrival of their newborn
Image credits: jesskitchel
Image credits: jesskitchel
Image credits: jesskitchel
Image credits: jesskitchel
Moved by the story, Bored Panda couldn't help but reach out to Jessica to learn more about her side of the story. Asked what moved her the most about the recording, Jessica said it was the fact that Dallen went out of his way to leave the message without knowing it would actually be seen by anyone. "Not only remembered it was our house, but he took the time to send me a message that he didn’t know if I would ever see." After staying indoors for 3 weeks, feeling isolated and tired after caesarean delivery, Jessica was blown away by Dallen's message, saying he was 'an angel sent to her that Friday.'
Moved by the video she found on her doorstep, Jessica posted it on Instagram to share the joy
Image credits: jesskitchel
After Jessica shared her plans of trying to identify the courier, people joined in and the search began
Image credits: jesskitchel
Image credits: jesskitchel
Viewed more than 76k times hours after the clip was posted on Instagram (151k as of today), people on the internet started messaging Jessica wanting to learn who is the mysterious, kind driver. "So many people messaged me asking if I found him because they wanted to help, too!" Moments after, seeing the interest of strangers on the internet, UPS reached out to Jessica and revealed the identity of their altruistic courier.
A few weeks after Jessica found the recording on her doorbell's camera, she and Dallen, the delivery guy, were finally able to meet in person
Image credits: jesskitchel
Image credits: jesskitchel
Learning that Dallen's baby Deveraux did not have a baby shower, Jessica surprised him with a delivery and decided to share a link to his registries
Image credits: jesskitchel
Image credits: jesskitchel
After finally getting a chance to thank Dallen for his act of kindness over the phone, Jessica discovered he was doing deliveries as a part-time job over the Christmas holidays and did not have a proper baby shower for his baby boy. "I asked him if I could post his registry because a lot of people wanted to help him and he was very touched by this," Jessica told Bored Panda.
Not a week passed before he had to start adding items to the wishlist to keep up with people's generosity
Image credits: jesskitchel
Seconds after Jessica shared Dallen's baby's listings for Target and Buy Buy Baby, she was swarmed with messages of people sending her their confirmations of purchases of toys and supplies for the baby. She says 'the wish-list began getting wiped out,' with around 15 packages arriving at Dallen's doorstep each day. One thing is clear: Harrell's family won't need to buy diapers any time soon.
UPS gifted Dallen a tablet for going the extra mile and later offered him a full-time position as a driver
Image credits: jesskitchel
"When I left the comment at the doorbell, I didn't even expect to hear from them, and so many blessings have followed behind," Dallen said. Besides getting a full-time job offer from UPS, one of the biggest shipping couriers in the world favored by dogs, and receiving a thoughtful 'thank you' care package from Jessica's family, Dallen has also been showered with gifts each day containing baby supplies.
Asked for a comment about this story, this is what a UPS spokesperson had to say to Bored Panda: "This is one of many great examples of how our people are delivering what matters every day. Dallen's action was heartwarming, so we helped to connect the customer with Dallen and we also offered him a permanent driver job. We're thrilled to say he has accepted!"
And people couldn't be happier seeing how one kind gesture bloomed into a Christmas story for the ages
