Carlos Valdez is a TikTok sensation with 63,000 followers. The TikToker decided to do something nice with his presence and raised money to help an 89-year-old pizza delivery man he knows. The TikToker shared the video on social media and it is so sweet.

Carlos Valdez first met the pizza delivery man when he delivered pizza to his home.

The TikTok user realized that the pizza delivery man was a good candidate for some help so he decided to do something to help him out. According to CNN, the octogenarian works 30 hours a week delivering pizzas for Papa Johns. The old man delivers the pizzas because he recently came to the realization that he cannot survive solely on his social security wages.

Valdez immediately turned to his followers to help raise the money needed to help the pizza man out.

Valdez knew that he had the kind of followers who would help him makes this man’s life a little easier. So, he turned to his followers and asked them to participate in a Venmo challenge to raise enough month to give this man some help.

And came through they did.

Valdez was able to raise more than $12,000 for the viejito to make sure that he had an easier life. After all, a man in his 80s should not have to work. This is the time that he is supposed to be enjoying his golden years doing what he wants when he wants.

They even included some merch in the gifts.

The shirt is a drawing of the pizza man holding open a pizza box. The words “Hellooo are you looking for some pizza?” are written inside the box. The shirt really excited him because, tbh, we all love to be seen in a drawing. It is so nice and personal.

But that check got him right in the feels.

That amount of money is life changing for anyone, but especially for someone on a very fixed income. Seeing his face when he realizes that the social media star brought him some serious money will make your heart melt. It is one of the most sincere moments on social media. Grab the tissues because you are going to cry.

Valdez is keeping his followers updated and it seems the pizza man is happy, beloved, and super into his shirt.

“This couldn’t have gone any better,” Valdez told KSL about the whole experience. “He needed this. I’m just glad we could help him. We just need to treat people with kindness and respect the way he does. He stole our hearts.”

READ: This TikTok User Went Viral For Making a Video About What a Latino Character in the Harry Potter Universe Would Look Like

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On Monday, the House of Representatives finally passed a bill called “Savanna’s Act”, a measure that will require the Justice Department to develop a protocol in response to the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women that is crippling native communities across the country. It is now headed to the president’s desk, waiting to be signed.

The bill was named after Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a 22-year-old woman of Indigenous descent who was murdered in 2017 when she was eight months pregnant. 

According to CNN, the bi-partisan bill is designed not only to create better guidelines for authorities to respond to this pervasive problem, but also instructs the Justice Department to “provide training for law enforcement agencies and to work with tribes and tribal organizations in implementing its strategy.” 

“Savanna’s Act addresses a tragic issue in Indian Country,” said North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, who is also the chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. “[It] helps establish better law enforcement practices to track, solve and prevent these crimes against Native Americans.”

From now on, the Justice Department will also be forced to provide an annual report on the numbers of missing Indigenous women–numbers that are, right now, unclear.

According to Omaha Tribe of Nebraska member Tillie Aldrich (whose daughter was found dead in January), the historical lack of government response to the issue of violence against Native women boils down to structural racism. 

“If we have a non-Native [person] missing in a city 25 miles north of us, it’s all over the news, the newspapers, posters going up,” Aldrich told Teen Vogue. “If we have someone missing, one of our Native missing, they try to keep it quiet.”

The plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women is a pervasive but underreported problem.

According to the Urban Indian Health Institute, 5,712 missing Alaska Native and American Indian women and girls were reported missing in 2016. Only 116 of them were registered in the Department of Justice database

The FBI’s National Crime Information Center database reports that Native American and Alaska Native women made up 0.8% of the U.S. population, but made up 1.8% of 2017 missing persons cases.

And these statistics only reflect the reported number of cases. Many native people have feelings of hopelessness when it comes to reporting their missing loved ones. They know that authorities won’t even try to find their missing family members.

Both family members of Indigenous people as well as Indigenous activists explain that there is a general attitude of apathy, victim-blaming, and lack of urgency when it comes to the local government’s response to these missing women. 

“When no one in authority looks for a missing woman, it sends a strong statement to the families and to communities that this life doesn’t matter–it is an expendable life,” said University of Kansas Professor Sarah Deer to Teen Vogue.

“Victim-blaming is often a part of this dynamic,” Deer continued. “If she’s done X, Y, or Z–no wonder she got caught up in trouble. Unlike an innocent white college girl, this Native woman doesn’t deserve prioritization.”

But as of now, activists and organizers are hopeful that Savanna’s Act will change the way government institutions respond to this all-too-common problem. 

“Missing and murdered Indigenous women are no longer invisible. They are no longer hidden in the shadows,” said former North Dakota Senator and bill co-sponsor Heidi Heitkamp. “By raising awareness about this crisis and taking concrete action to help address it, we can help make sure Indigenous women are better protected.”

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