Middle School Teacher Posts TikTok Video And Raises $30K To Pay Student Lunch Debts
Many people struggle to get by from one day to the next, and it can be difficult when you are trying to pay for everything that needs to be paid.
Sometimes, it even affects the children in the family as they may not have enough to get lunch every day.
This isn’t something that goes unnoticed, and in some cases, people know they need to do something about it. For one middle school teacher in Utah, however, it was more than knowing something needed to be done. He did something.
Garrett Jones is that teacher who wanted to help students who had lunch fees that had not been paid. He decided to post a TikTok video, and to his surprise, he went from his initial goal of $8000 to over $30,000 in contributions within a few days.
Although the video is only six seconds long, it really has made an impact. The text caption says: “If 2,673 Venmo’d me $1, I could pay the outstanding lunch fees of every student in my school because the last thing a kid should be worrying about is how much they owe for meals at a place they’re legally obligated to be.”
After posting the video, people started passing the video around, and within 24 hours, he had already received $2000 in donations. The next day, it went up to $8000 and then on the following day, he hit $20,000.
Jones said it is difficult for middle schoolers to be embarrassed, and it is even worse than going hungry. According to USA Today, he said: “Being at the front of the line and hearing they have a balance is likely enough to dissuade some of them from even eating at all.”
After speaking with the lunch ladies at the school, the teacher found out that the debt for all students was $8000. Jones thought that he would get a couple of hundred dollars, but now that he has a considerable amount, he wants to distribute it through other schools in the county to cancel additional lunch fee debt.
Check out his videos below:
@cgj205 Kids can’t learn if they’re hungry and don’t deserve to be handed a bill for lunch at a place they have to be. School lunch should be free. #teachersoftiktok #teacher #schoollunch #middleschool #elementaryschool #highschool ♬ I hope yall are making some money – cash.bets
@cgj205 Replying to @user4025757790510 little update! THANK YOU ALL. 🥹 My venmo is in bio and my cash app is $cgj9. I would’ve included it if I thought it was actually going to do numbers. Will keep updating! #teachersoftiktok #schoollunch #QuakerPregrain #schoollunchdebt ♬ Chill Vibes – Tollan Kim
@cgj205 Replying to @erikalove4 3rd update in 36 hours. You guys are insane!!! #teachersoftiktok #schoollunch #schoollunchdebt #QuakerPregrain #teacher #giving #mrbeast ♬ Good impression VP company introduction (3 minutes)(983023) – RYOpianoforte
@cgj205 Replying to @wtfitsnolen update 4. You guys are insane. I’m sorry I can’t make things happen faster. #teachersoftiktok #schoollunch #giving ♬ Happy and fun corporate music for advertising. – TimTaj
@cgj205 Update Number 5! 99% of what I said didn’t make the story and I’m bummed because you guys deserve all the credit. I’m so glad my district is stepping up with a legitimate accounting of the money so that I can be transparent with you all. This week was amazing. People are so good. ❤️ #UnlimitedHPInk #teachersoftiktok #teacher #giving #schoollunch #middleschool #highschool ♬ dance(256762) – TimTaj
