When an 80-year-old former school janitor needed to come back to work because he was able to meet his needs, something happened that removed all the hurdles.
Mr. James's income was approaching zero, so he decided to work at Callisburg High School in January after his rent was raised by $400 per month and he couldn't make ends meet, according to a report by The Guardian.
Three students heard their new janitor's story and decided to start the fundraising campaign with the title "Getting Mr. James out of this school."
The teens set the original goal at $10,000, which it quickly surpassed. And after that, the donations continued to pour in for him. As of Friday afternoon, it had received nearly $270,000 from more than 8,000 donors.
"When we told him, he was kind of like, 'Dang, that's alright!'" said Callisburg senior Marti Yousko, who had the idea to start the campaign.
"Nobody deserves to work their whole life.They deserve to enjoy everything," said student Greyson Thurman, who posted the campaign.
This heartbreaking story of Mr. James explains the financial crisis that old people in the United States face.
According to the US Department of Labour and Statistics, the proportion of workers 75 and older in the workforce is predicted to increase by 96.5% by 2030, despite the fact that millions of Americans are continuing to work past the age at which they would ordinarily retire. The only age group for whom the labour force participation rate is anticipated to increase during the next ten years is those who are 75 years of age and older.
