School janitor, 80, can finally retire after $150,000 is raised thanks to kind-hearted student

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By Nasima Khatun

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An 80-year-old school janitor known as Mr. James was finally given the opportunity to retire after the children at the school he works at helped raise over $150,000 for him.

Posting to TikTok, student Greyson Thurman from the Callisburg area in Texas compiled a few clips of his school's janitor pushing a trolly full of cleaning equipment that he was using to tidy the hallways.

The clips showed him struggling to walk as he pushed the cart along until he disappeared through a door.

In the caption of the 13-second video, Thurman urged his followers to donate to the GoFundMe that he set up in the hopes that he could raise enough to help the 80-year-old retire.

"Go fund me is in the bio!", the concerned student wrote. "My classmates and I hate seeing Mr. James here, no one his age should have to be cleaning our messes up to continue to live."

Within a week, the fundraiser has managed to rack up over $154,000 and the number continues to get higher as the hours go by.

Over 4,900 people have kindly donated to the janitor so that he can finally put his feet up and enjoy his retirement.

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A screen grab of the GoFundMePage created for Mr. James. Credit: GoFundMe

Since it was posted six days ago, the TikTok video has already amassed 16.6 thousand views with hundreds flocking to the comments to offer their support for both the senior as well as the kind student.

"The future looks brighter because of what you guys are doing!", said one user to which Thurman humbly replied: "We did the easy work, all the great people who donated really helped!!"

"Bless you all for helping him out," added another.

A third said that it makes them emotional seeing the 80-year-old have to work, writing: "It makes me so sad to see him working everyday."

"So sweet. This guy must’ve been around for my family who went to callisburg. Thank you for doing this!"

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Credit: TikTok
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Credit: TikTok
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Credit: TikTok
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Credit: TikTok

Others hoped that the student would provide an update on the situation, especially when they told Mr. James the good news.

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Credit: TikTok

Our faith in humanity has been restored after seeing such a kind and selfless act by the students at the school - the cost of living crisis has hit everybody hard but Mr. James will hopefully now be able to enjoy his retirement again soon.

Featured Image Credit: Andriy Popov / Alamy