Students at a high school in Callisburg, Texas, were upset when they heard that an 80-year-old custodian was forced to come out of retirement in order to afford his rent, so they jumped into action.
The Callisburg High School janitor known as Mr. James to the students had his rent raised by $400 and he wasn’t able to make ends meet without going back to work.
Three students decided to open a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Mr. James, and they set their goal for $10,000.
“Hey guys I’m having a fundraiser for our janitor who is struggling to pay his rent. He had to leave retirement to continue to pay his rent that was raised. Just a little will change his life!!” the description read.
After the campaign went viral on Instagram, the students raised more than $30,000 in just two days.
Only a week later, the campaign has raised more than $162,000 with more than 5.2k donations.
“Nobody deserves to work their whole life. They deserve to enjoy everything,” said student Greyson Thurman, one of the organizers of the campaign.
Mr. James has refused to take requests for interviews, and there is no indication that he plans to quit his job despite the avalanche of support.
Callisburg Principal Jason Hooper said he was proud of the students who organized the effort as well as those who donated.
“Its just amazing,” said Hooper to KXII-TV. ”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.”
Here’s a video of the heart-warming story:
Students raise more than $144,000 for 80-year-old custodianwww.youtube.com
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