A heartwarming — and life-changing — gesture from a group of Virginia high school students has forever changed the life of the school’s custodian.
According to story from Fox5 DC, Francis Apraku, a custodian at James Madison High School in Vienna, VA, was overwhelmed with emotion when students surprised him with his dream car for his birthday — a Jeep Wrangler.
High schoolers surprise custodian with a new Jeep: https://t.co/am9Wn9vBDR #KAKEnews
— KAKE News (@KAKEnews) September 10, 2024
During a touching event on Monday, Apraku said, “I will give thanks to Almighty God for making today for me. Today is a great day for me and I didn’t believe this would happen in my life.”
According to the report, the birthday surprise was months in the making thanks to fundraising led by a group of students who remembered Apraku mentioning that his dream car was a Jeep Wrangler.
The students, including Logan Georgelas and Bennett Hibshman, worked together to make his dream a reality.
“We just kind of decided we were going to try to get him his Jeep Wrangler with the GoFundMe, and we never really thought that it would come this far,” Logan said. “When we got $5,000 in the first day, we were like, all right, this is real.”
The fundraising campaign exceeded expectations, eventually raising over $20,000.
The event was supported by Andy, a local car dealer who helped the students find the perfect Jeep.
Francis was visibly moved as he stood next to the Jeep, in the school’s parking lot.
“This day, Sept. 9, I will never, ever forget,” Apraku said, expressing his deep appreciation for the students.