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Students raising money to buy truck for custodian

FILE PHOTO: A group of high school students is trying to raise money to buy a truck for a custodian who drives 20 miles daily in an old beater. 

JASPER, Ala. — A group of high school students is trying to raise money to buy a truck for a custodian who drives 20 miles daily in an old beater.

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In celebration of National Custodial Workers Recognition day Oct. 2, students started a GoFundMe account in an effort to raise $20,000 for a truck for custodian Travis Kennedy, who has worked 22 years for Jasper County Schools, the Daily Mountain Eagle reported.

"The fact that he's known by his first name, that our kids see him as an encourager and a role model, that's just a testament to the kind of man that Travis aspires to be every day," Jasper High School Principal Jonathan Allen told the Mountain Eagle. "His first words when we told him about this and what the kids had done, he said, 'There's probably somebody that deserves this more than me.'"

The donations, up to $10,000, will be matched by a car dealership. They have raised more than $7,500 as of Thursday afternoon.

The 1989 Ford truck Kennedy drives 20 miles daily to the school was a replacement after his old truck was damaged in an accident, the Mountain Eagle reported.

Kennedy was awestruck at the gesture.

"I know who's behind it. It's God that's behind it. It has to be," Kennedy told the Mountain Eagle. "I commend y'all for your love and compassion. It's overwhelming."