'Make Us Be Better People': Madison Students Fundraise To Get Janitor Dream Car

VIENNA, VA — It started as a joke to see if Bennett Hibshman and his Madison High School friends could raise money to buy their janitor a car by the time they graduate. Then the fundraiser gained $10,000 in one day. That's when the fundraiser became serious.

Hibshman started the fundraiser to buy a Jeep Wrangler for Francis Apraku, a janitor working at Madison High School in Vienna. The Madison High School student told Patch that he and friends have often seen Apraku cleaning the locker rooms while they were doing lifts for football.

"We'd always see him, and we would always talk to him. He was just so nice. So we're like, let's learn some more about this guy," said Hibshman.

When the students asked Apraku what his dream car was, he replied, Jeep Wrangler. But the janitor cannot afford to buy one.

That's why Hibshman started the GoFundMe fundraiser, and more of his friends have joined to help out. With a goal of $25,000, they set out to fundraise to get the janitor his dream car. On just the second day of the fundraiser, it had surpassed $10,000. Now the fundraising total has topped $17,000.

"We thought this would be like a four-year process," said Hibshman. "We thought it would be maybe, like $10 every week, or something, definitely not $10,000 in one day. That was pretty crazy."

According to Hibshman, Apraku has talked with the students about moving to the U.S. a few years ago with his son and daughter from Africa. The students enjoy those conversations with the janitor and how he tells family back home he enjoys working with the students at Madison High School. Hibshman says Apraku is also a trusted adult at the school who could help students when needed.

"He's always been nice to us, and if we're locked out of the school, left our water bottle, he let us in. He'd always talk to us," said Hibshman. "He'd sometimes work out with us. He'd always try to make us be better people. He'd show us his son and his daughter and talk about how amazing we are, and how he tells his family about how he's having such a good time with the students at Madison...So we just kind of were like, let's help this guy out. You know, do something nice for him."

The Madison freshman says janitors like Apraku are an important part of the school. He says janitors are there to clean up messes, including those students intentionally make in the bathrooms.

"I don't think anyone just have to fix, clean something up that they didn't do, like someone's clogging toys on purpose for him to clean up," said Hibshman. "I think he definitely deserves to get a pay raise, or get paid more than he does, because I see the work that he does, and I see how much he loves it."

The students haven't told Apraku about the fundraiser, because they want to surprise him with a check to buy a Jeep Wrangler. With a $25,000 fundraiser goal, they can help him buy a used car. A mechanic shop in Vienna has already agreed to fix the car up, and a friend's parent at a dealership has agreed to help them get a good deal on a used car. The students also want to make sure the car can have a tire on the back, which is Apraku's favorite part of the car.

Hibshman credits a friend's mom for helping the fundraiser gain traction with a post in the Vienna VA Foodies Facebook group. Now the students hope to reach the fundraising goal. Every dollar raised is a dollar closer to surprising Apraku with a check for his dream car.

"I think it's really amazing how the whole community kind of came together, just like collectively raised $10,000 for someone that they haven't met in their lives, and for most people, kids that they've never met in their lives," said Hibshman.