High school students raise more than $270,000 to help elderly caregiver who had to retire

CALISBERG, TX – High school students raised money for their school’s guardian, James Gailey, known as Mr James, after learning he had to retire and work again to make ends meet.

“He shared with me that his rent went up almost $400 a year and he just couldn’t afford to keep paying without going back to work,” said Calisburg High School Principal Jason Hooper.

Seeing him at school again, three students started a GoFundMe to help raise funds for it.

“The original goal was $10,000, and we know $10,000 is nothing these days, but we’re just hoping that whatever we can get can give him a little bit of a cushion, a little bit more comfort.” — elder Kalisberg. Marty Yuska said.

“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 lives,” said senior Grayson Thurman of Calisburg.

The students increased their goal for Mr. James to $80,000.

“It gives me faith in humanity because with all the bad things that are going on around the world, we need something like this to happen, and it really restored my faith,” Thurman said.

The GoFundMe the page raised more than $270,000 for Mr. James.