High school students help elderly custodian retire

A group of high school students raised over $214,000 to pay their 80-year-old custodian after he came out of retirement to pay for rent.
1:41 | 03/07/23

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Transcript for High school students help elderly custodian retire
>>> FINALLY TONIGHT, HE WAS RETIRED, BUT LIKE SO MANY, THE BILLS GOING UP. SO, AT 80, HE SHOWED UP AT SCHOOL TO WORK AS THE JANITOR. THE STUDENTS NOTICED. TONIGHT, IN CALLISBURG, TEXAS, NORTH OF DALLAS/FORT WORTH, THE STUDENTS AT CALLISBURG HIGH SCHOOL HAVE JUST DONE SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY FOR THEIR BELOVED JANITOR, MR. JAMES. MR. JAMES GAILEY IS 80 YEARS OLD. AND LIKE SO MANY RETIREES, HE CAME OUT OF RETIREMENT TO PAY HIS BILLS. PRINCIPAL JASON HOOPER. >> HE SHARED WITH ME HIS RENT WITHIN A YEAR HAS GONE UP NEARLY $400, AND HE JUST COULDN'T AFFORD TO CONTINUE PAYING WITHOUT GOING BACK TO WORK. >> SENIOR GRAYSON THURMOND. >> WHEN I SAW HIM IN THE HALL, IT BROKE MY HEART, BECAUSE NOBODY AT 80 SHOULD BE WORKING. THEY SHOULD BE LIVING THE REST OF THEIR LIFE. >> SO, THE STUDENTS HAD AN IDEA. TAKING THIS VIDEO OF MR. JAMES AND POSTING IN ONLINE WITH THE CAPTION, "THIS IS OUR 80-YEAR-OLD JANITOR WHO HAD HIS RENT RAISED AND HAD TO COME BACK TO WORK. LET'S HELP MR. JAMES OUT!" SENIOR MARTY EUSCO. >> WE'RE JUST HOPING THAT WHATEVER WE CAN GET MIGHT GIVE HI HIM A LITTLE BIT OF CUSHION, A LITTLE BIT OF COMFORT. >> TONIGHT, NOW 2 1/2 WEEKS AFTER THEIR POST, THE INCREDIBLE RESPONSE. PEOPLE SO MOVED BY WHAT THE STUDENTS DID, THEY BEGAN DONATING TO MR. JAMES ON GOFUNDME. MORE THAN 8,000 DONATIONS FROM ALL OF THE COUNTRY NOW, MORE THAN $270,000. AND BECAUSE OF THOSE STUDENTS TONIGHT, MR. JAMES IS GOING BACK INTO RETIREMENT. AND RIGHT HERE TONIGHT, THE PRINCIPAL. >> HEY, DAVID. >> PRINCIPAL HOOPER ON HIS STUDENTS, WHO RECOGNIZED NEED AND ACTED. >> WE'RE SO THANKFUL THAT WE HAVE KIDS WHO LOOK OUT FOR OTHERS, WHO LOVE ONE ANOTHER, AND WHO DISPLAY KINDNESS IN EVERY WAY THAT THEY POSSIBLY CAN. >> WE'RE COUNTING ON THIS NEXT GENERATION.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

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