Recently, students at Providence College in Rhode Island raised thousands of dollars through a fundraiser to gift a beloved campus security guard the opportunity to travel back to Nigeria and visit his family. The online fundraiser titled “Help James Visit His Family!” has received over $28,000 in generous donations, far exceeding its original goal of $3,500.
The website’s description praised James’s hard-working spirit, where he often takes overnight shifts several times a week. The organizer, Brandon Reichert, noted that his hall felt compelled to raise the money so that the security guard could take some time off and visit with his family.
“James is without a doubt the best security guard here at Providence College. He works four overnight shifts a week and the Raymond Hall 4th Floor would love to raise money for him to see his family in Nigeria that he hasn’t seen in a long time,” the fundraiser read.
James is further described as a kind individual who goes out of his way to spread joy throughout the Providence College community. “For those of you that don’t know James, he truly is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He greets everybody with a smile and always welcomes conversations no matter what time of the night you run into him. He has expressed how much he enjoys his job here at PC, and we would love to be able to allow him to visit his family. He does not know how much we appreciate him, and hope that this shows to him how much he means to our community,” the description continued.
The student-organized fundraiser stated that James was due for a more-than-deserved trip to visit his family, which he hadn’t seen in years. The goal was to ensure the security guard would endure zero out-of-pocket costs for the trip.
“We hope that others will join in raising funds for James, as Raymond Hall and Providence College would be a completely different building without him. He has not seen his family in many years, and we believe that he is more than deserving to see his loved ones. Any amount of donation is appreciated, and 100% of the proceeds will be put towards travel expenses for James so he does not have to pay out of pocket,” the organizer wrote.
Following the outpouring of support, which has now exceeded the original fundraising goal by nearly eight times as of writing this article, an update was posted on the website showing the moment they gave James the gift. Upon receiving the gift, the security guard appeared highly elated, covering his mouth in awe.
“Tonight we were able to gift James with enough money for him to travel to Nigeria to visit his family in June! I’d like to thank everyone who donated as you can see what an impact you made on such an incredible man. All further donations will be given to James at the end of the school year in May to fund another trip!” the update read.
Featured image credit: GoFundMe
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