Kindness is always free, and this is especially appreciated when given to those who do the hard work for us. The story becomes even more special when the recipient of this wonderful act is an older man who deserves to finally take a break.
After all, many of us set out young to work. The daily grind gets to us, but it’s something that needs to be done in order for us to pay our bills. This was the case of an older gentleman who was forced to go back to work just to get through life.
High school seniors saw the new help they got in school and immediately knew what he deserved. They actually managed to secure a quarter-million dollars for their sweet, 80-year-old janitor who was forced to come out of retirement. Why? Because he needed money to pay his rent when it went up.
The students empathized with his plight and decided to raise money through a GoFundMe. The goal started out just $10,000. However, many were touched by his story and the mission took a different route and they were able to go beyond their milestone.
It all started when several seniors at Callisburg high school in Texas noticed that they had a new janitor. They called him “Mr. James,” an 80-year-old former retiree whose rent had gone up $400 a month. So, he applied for a job as a janitor in order to meet the rent.
The students believed that they could make use of their knowledge of the internet and social media to help him out. They put their heads together and decided to open a GoFundMe to help Mr. James get his back and just live his life the way he deserved to.
“It’s crazy to see something that, we knew people would have wanted to help,” said senior Marti Yousko. “But we didn’t know it would blow up.”
Senior Greyson Thurman decided to post one TikTok video and showed the world how Mr. James cleaning the halls. He also linked the GoFundMe page because he wanted to help the older man live out the rest of his life in comfort.
“I have 2,000 followers and that was enough to get the word out,” said Thurman.
They were able to raise $10,000 in just 12 hours, and most of the donations had come from the students themselves. They showed their support and love almost immediately.
“It’s just amazing,” said Principal Jason Hooper, ”You know of the need that was met because of three kind kids, but of all of our students who have pitched in to help that need.”
Local news covered this story as well and reported on the fund drive in mid-February when there was already a 5-digit sum on the page. However, it had to be turned off after they reached $270,000 because they wanted to give the money to Mr. James immediately.
The donations that were made came from all over the country and it went beyond that. People had wished Mr. James a happy retirement, and there were many out there who also sent well-wishes to the students for coming up with this amazing and heartwarming plan.
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