A group of college students in Rhode Island has helped to give their favorite security guard a surprise trip home.
Rhodes Island, according to Wkipedia, is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States.
Gray News, quoting Providence College, reports that students living in Raymond Hall came up with the idea after learning that James Mogaji, an overnight security guard for their building, had not visited his family in Nigeria in more than a decade.
One of the students, Brandon Reichert, started a GoFundMe on February 29 to share Mogaji’s story and the group’s goal of raising money on his behalf.
Within a week, the group was able to raise enough money to present Mogaji with a gift of a $3,000 trip.
“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,” Reichert shared.
A heartfelt video of the group surprising their beloved security guard with the trip has gained thousands of views and comments since being shared earlier this month.
The students said they wanted to show Mogaji how much they appreciated him.
“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,” Reichert said.
The group’s fundraising efforts have currently raised nearly $30,000 and they said all further donations will be given to Mogaji at the end of the school year to help fund another trip for him.
