The kindness and generosity of people can be truly inspiring, and this was exemplified by a group of students who came together to show their appreciation for the janitor at their school. They gifted him a car so he wouldn’t have to walk to work every day.
A heartwarming video shared on Reddit by u/UnitedLab6476 captures the moment when the students blindfolded the janitor and presented him with a small red box.
They asked him to check if there was anything inside, to which he replied, “I don’t feel anything.”
One of the students then placed the car key inside the box, and when the janitor checked again, he found the key.
With excitement, a student asked him if he was ready to know what was in the box, to which he replied, “I sure am.”
That’s when another student tells him, “Mr. Joe, we appreciate all your hard work. Students came together and got you little something. We know you have been walking to school for the past 4 years. We are graduating and we just wanted to show you our appreciation. You never have to walk again.”
After removing his blindfold, Joe expresses his surprise, saying “Oh my god, what is this?” and is told, “That’s your car, Mr.Joe.” The students encourage him to check it out, and one of them confirms, “All yours, Mr. Joe, you never have to walk again. It’s your car.”
At first, Joe seems unable to believe it and asks, “School gave this? You guys gave this? Who gave this?”
A student responds, “Us, we came together, put together some money. All the kids love you.”
The heartwarming video ends with Joe embracing the students in gratitude.
The video, titled “Students pool funds to get a car for the janitor so he doesn’t have to walk,” has received over 27,000 upvotes on Reddit.
Many users were moved by the students’ generosity towards the school staff member.
One person commented “I was doing ok with this video – right up until I saw how painful his walk is, and realized he walked that painfully every day for four years. And the students had such empathy and respect for him. Then came the tears. This is such a beautiful thing they did.”
Another said, “Those kids and this man will remember this feeling forever. Nice to hear about kids doing great things!”
Nevertheless, many Reddit users also expressed concern about Joe’s wages and whether he could afford to maintain and insure the vehicle.
A user commented, “This is awesome, but I can’t help but think this is another example of, x person should already be able to afford a necessity bc they are paid a respectable living wage.”
Someone added, “I really hope the insurance or like the registration isn’t a huge setback for him. Aside from that, you see a lot of people who do giveaways furor views but this felt very genuine and I loved it.”