A man who hasn’t seen his family in more than a decade will get a chance to – thanks to a group of students from Rhode Island.
This semester, a group of Providence College students befriended a security guard named James at the institution’s Raymond Hall. After meeting him, the students eventually learned that he hadn’t seen his family, including his son, in Nigeria for 11 years, so they decided to raise some money to help him out.
A GoFundMe page was set up on February 29 to raise travel expenses for James to travel home to Nigeria. At the fundraiser, students explained why James deserved the funding, highlighting his hard-working attitude and kind demeanor.
“For those of you who don’t know James, he is truly one of the nicest people you will ever meet,” they wrote. “He greets everyone with a smile and is always happy to talk no matter what time of night you run into him… He doesn’t know how much we appreciate him and we hope that shows him how much he means to our community.”
Photo of Providence College security guard James, as seen on GoFundMe.
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Freshman Brandon Reichert, who helped organize the GoFundMe, told WCVB about James, “He’s just the kindest soul anyone has ever met in this building. He means so much to us, he’s so important. It was amazing how quickly everyone connected and managed to put it together for him”.
According to the outlet, the students were able to raise $3,000 within 24 hours of setting up the GoFundMe, and on March 6, a group of students finally handed over the money they raised to James.
In a later GoFundMe update, the students included a photo of themselves presenting the money to the custodian while sitting at their desk. James looked shocked as he raised his hands to his mouth.
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“Tonight we were able to give James enough money to travel to Nigeria to visit his family in June!” Reichert wrote. “I would like to thank everyone who donated as you can see the impact you have made on such an amazing man.”
“I mean, I was fighting back tears,” current sophomore advisor Daniel Singh, who was present when the students presented the funds, told WJAR.
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“What’s so special is the impact that James has had on all of us,” Dean of Students Steven Sears added to ABC 6 of James. “His reaction and authenticity not only for this group and the students involved in his care, and what he said at the end is that he prays for them, prays for their success, and that God watches over them and that he does it every day «.
Reichert said any further donations on the GoFundMe will be given to James at the end of the school year to fund further trips to Nigeria in the future. As of Saturday afternoon, the GoFundMe had raised more than $15,000.
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Source: HIS Education