CALLISBURG, Texas — Kindness goes a long way.
Three seniors from a North Texas high school are showing what a little compassion can accomplish. Their high school janitor, Mr. James, who is 80 years old, left retirement to begin working again after struggling to pay his rising rent.
"He should be living his life, doing what he wants. His rent got raised," senior Greyson Thurman told WFAA. "That forced him to come back to keep working. He should just be living right now, doing what he wants."
"No 80-year-old should have to work because they have to," senior Banner Tidwell added. "It should be because they want to. It bothered us that he had to have a place to work in order to keep his house.”
The students started a GoFundMe page for Mr. James to help him out and posted a video on TikTok to spread the news. Their original goal was to raise $10,000 for him.
"Just a little will change his life!" Thurman said in the GoFundMe bio.
The student's heartwarming plea for help has captured the hearts and eyes of many. So much so, the GoFundMe fundraiser for Mr. James has raised nearly $35,000 in three days, so they raised the goal to $80,000. As of Feb. 24, the GoFundMe had shot up to $250,000 from nearly 8,000 donations.
The comment section of the TikTok video is filled with heartwarming comments about how touched everyone is by the students' generosity.
"We did the easy work, all the great people who donated really helped," Thurman responded to one viewer.
In an update to the GoFundMe, Thurman said they'll keep it going through noon on Friday, Feb. 24.
“This is small town ... Callisburg. It amazes me how many of our kids as a whole had donated to this," Principal Jason Hooper said. "Of seeing a need and meeting that need. It’s what we’re about. We’re family. We don’t always agree, but we love our own and we help our own.”
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