A much-loved cleaner at Bristol University was brought to tears when students crowdfunded £1,500 to send him to Jamaica on holiday.
Herman Gordon, who is adored by students for his positive attitude and happy-go-lucky approach to life, broke down in tears after generous undergrads handed over the cash gift.
The money was raised via a JustGiving page to fund a week’s trip for Mr Gordon and his wife to visit family in the Caribbean – with more than 230 students donating.
Much-loved Bristol University Herman Gordon was brought to tears when students raised £1,500 to send him to Jamaica on holiday with his wife to visit family in the Caribbean – with more than 230 students donating
‘He is the epitome of happiness,’ the donation page reads.
A video of Mr Gordon being surprised with the money was later shared online where he becomes emotional and thanks the Bristol students for their kind token of appreciation.
The gift was accompanied by a note addressed from ‘Bristol Students’, which thanked Mr Gordon for his ‘positive energy’ over the years.
‘You have brightened many of our days and we want you to know that we love and appreciate you.’
Mr Gordon has worked at Bristol University as part of the cleaning staff for 12 years.
Explaining his positive approach to life, Mr Gordon told BBC Newsbeat it’s important to keep away ‘negative vibes’.
‘I know that these students are studying. You don’t want any negative vibes around them.
‘They speak good things to me, I speak good things to them, and I bless them all.’
A video of Mr Gordon being surprised with the money was later shared online where he becomes emotional and thanks the Bristol students for their kind token of appreciation
According to an admin from the Bristruths Facebook page – an anonymous ‘truth’ page for Bristol University – the idea for Mr Gordon’s trip came from a Facebook post.
‘It all started with this post on the 19th May,’ they said.
The initial post called Mr Gordon ‘the jolliest man I have ever met’ and said ‘if you wanna reason to smile, go talk to him for a min or two’.
A day later, another anonymous Facebook user posted that they were starting a crowdfunding page for him.
Mr Gordon said that he was overcome with emotion when he received the money from the students. He’d never mentioned anything about wanting to go away, so receiving the money was ‘out of the blue’
Within five days, they’d almost reached their target.
Mr Gordon said that he was overcome with emotion when he received the money from the students.
He’d never mentioned anything about wanting to go away, so receiving the money was ‘out of the blue’.
‘I don’t know if you know that song – ‘Many a tear has to fall/But it’s all in the game’,’ he said.
‘That’s what happened. A lot of tears.’