They paid it backward.
Three high school seniors from rural Texas raised more than a quarter of a million dollars so their 80-year-old school custodian could retire again.
Callisburg High School students Greyson Thurman, Marti Yousko and Banner Tidwell launched a GoFundMe campaign for the janitor, “Mr. James,” on Feb. 15.
Thurman posted a TikTok showing the elderly man cleaning the hallway with a link to the fundraiser, and within less than two weeks, the viral post raised more than $270,000 from over 8,600 donors.
“This is our 80 y/o janitor who had his rent raised and had to come back to work. Let’s help Mr. James out,” text over the video read. “No one his age should have to be cleaning our messes up to continue to live.”
“It’s amazing,” Callisburg High Principal Jason Hooper told local news outlet KXII. “The need that was met because of three kind kids — of all of our students who pitched in to meet that need,” he said.
Most of the money was raised by students and staff from Callisburg, a town of just around 300 people near the Oklahoma border, according to the students.
The school district, which has a total enrollment of about 1,200 students, 86 teachers and 164 staff members, operates two campuses on an annual budget of $12.5 million, according to CBS.
Hooper told CBS Money Watch that Mr. James, who does not want to reveal his full name, was hired by the school district last month. Quickly, “Our kids saw a need, went out and met it,” Hooper said.
The students said Mr. James was forced out of retirement due to rising costs of living and felt the need to help out.
Roughly 1.5 million people were forced out of retirement across the country due to rising inflation costs, according to an Indeed analysis of US Department of Labor data, CBS reported.
“It’s just so sad seeing an 80-year-old man having to do things an 80-year-old shouldn’t have to do,” Tidwell told KXII.
“It’s crazy to see something that, we knew people would have wanted to help,” Yousko told the news outlet, “But we didn’t know it would blow up.”
Mr. James, who wishes to avoid the spotlight, was “very grateful,” for the massive response.
Hooper told CBS that the money was enough to allow James to go back to retirement, but it’s not clear when he plans to leave the school.
“Thanks so much to everyone that has donated and spread the word to help Mr. James. You all have made a huge impact on him that will forever change his life,” Thurman wrote on the campaign page.