High Schoolers Do Good for School's Janitor
High Schoolers Do Good for School's Janitor
Hard work is rewarded. That's always going to be good.
In a gesture that can only be described as good, Francis Apraku has a new car. Francis is and has been the janitor for James Madison High School in Vienna, Virginia. On September 9th, to celebrate his decades of hard-work, students from the school raised money to gift him a bright red Jeep Wrangler.
Apraku was overwhelming. "Oh my god, I can't believe this," he stammered as the students presented him with the vehicle and then he promptly last Monday.
Apraku’s story is the classic American story. He moved to the U.S. with his son and daughter from Africa. After being hired at the school, hard work took over. His students recall seeing Apraku working late into the day cleaning the locker rooms while they were doing lifts for football, or toiling for hours cleaning the school’s bathroom.
The genesis for this good gift dates back to last September when a group of students were chatting with Apraku. In conversation, the topic turned to his birthday wish, and the custodian revealed that he wanted a Jeep Wrangler.
"They laughed at me all day," Apraku recounted to the students after telling them his dream car. But the laughs were just on the surface, the students started plotting to make Apraku’s wish a reality. The first step was this GoFundMe, with a lovely description:
"Ever since we met Francis, he has always been super kind and friendly and sometimes even prays for us."
The Vienna neighborhood quickly delivered momentum in the form of donations, and then the students turned to social media as a local Facebook group, "Vienna VA Foodies," heard about the endeavor and kicked in more than $10K.
<Editor’s note: let’s hear it for the foodies!>
The final money came from a local businessmen and then the deal was sealed with the kids aided by a local car dealership:
"Thank you to Madison dad Andy Britt of Ted Britt Ford – Fairfax who searched everywhere to get the best possible deal for this car, he secured the best car in record time!"