While Santa loads his sleigh only one night a year, our delivery workers across the country deliver packages all year long.
UPS driver Anthony Gaskin has been delivering packages for 16 years in Chester County, Virginia. He often delivers more than 180 packages a day.
Gaskins has delivered thousands of parcels amid the pandemic and his deliveries have been life-saving to the residents of the Hallsely residents.
In the spirit of the holiday season, resident Patty Friedman wanted to express her gratitude for all of Gaskin’s hard work, from the pandemic through to the holidays. She said he is best known for his comforting wave and smile when dropping off packages.
“He kept being an uplifting, positive, warm, and caring part of our lives, without even walking in our doors,” said Friedman. “Anthony was a constant. He made things feel more normal.”
Friedman said she organized a surprise for Gaskin. She said she thought, “Maybe I could get a few people to get together and we could surprise him [while he] drive[s] by.”
She said she sent a note to neighbors asking them if they’d like to thank him.
“It really stands out when you recognize the risk that he put himself through, the fact that the volume of boxes he was delivering was more at a holiday level,” she said. “It was [to show] gratitude and appreciation for simple acts of kindness on his part.”
Residents of the small Virginia suburb felt that Gaskins deserved to be recognized and knew that UPS certainly wasn’t going to do it for them.
“Even though his truck does not have sirens and his uniform does not offer added fire protection, Anthony Gaskins is considered a hero in the Hallsley neighborhood,” Patty Friedman later wrote in an email to WTVR. “Through COVID, Anthony has continued working, delivering packages at our doors, record numbers of them, over 180 times to date.”
The residents at Hallsely appreciated Gaskin’s relentless work and dedication even amid the unprecedented deadly pandemic. In the pictures, Gaskin, on the other hand, could be seen a move by the “wholesome” gesture and he even thanked everyone.
Meanwhile, folks online appreciated the residents’ gesture.
One user wrote, “That’s awesome. People forget that while they’re being angry about their packages not arriving, most of these guys/gals working their tails off.”
Another added, “The gratitude from his neighbours is heartwarming, and this demonstration is pretty cool”.
“This country needs more of this. People standing behind one another no matter political affiliations, race, or gender,” wrote third.
“I think a coordinated effort to thank someone for what they do is noteworthy,” said fourth.
“Such a heart warming story,” added someone else. “A man gives to the community and the community returns the favor. This is what it looks like to be good humans.”
Some might say he was just doing his job, but Friedman insisted that it’s really more than that.
“I wanted to thank him personally for how much he helped me feel welcome when I moved in during a pandemic,” she added. “It was terribly lonely and he was always the highlight of my day.”
After mentioning this to a few people in the community, Friedman quickly realized she was far from alone. In fact, it turned out that a lot of people were big fans of Gaskin‘s, and he’s quite beloved
Unsurprisingly, Gaskin was moved to tears. After he thanked everyone he went back to business as usual. Now, he will work with the knowledge of all the good he is doing in the neighborhood. Even if he doesn’t say it, deep down he knows he’s their favorite UPS driver.
Watch the video below for more details:
