Students donate money to send janitor to Italy to visit son

When a high school janitor in Kentucky was called into an assembly to clean up a spill, he certainly wasn't expecting what came next. NBC reports, " ... instead of a mess to clean up, Ricky Spaulding got this: a trash can full of cash."

WAVE reports, "Students and staff poured into the Anderson County school gym for a pep rally that really was a cover up for big surprise. They presented Spaulding with a bag of money the students collected totaling nearly $2,000."

Ricky told WLEX what he plans to do with that cash. "My son is stationed in Italy and we're uh, we're going to see him."

Apparently school staff started collecting the donations earlier this year, after learning Ricky hadn't seen his son in over a year -- and had never met his new grandson. Ricky's wife Lisa was on hand to watch her husband receive the big surprise.

Lisa Spaulding was floored, saying, "I just think it's awesome that high schoolers and the school here -- it just shows how caring they are. I just think that's amazing."

And it seems like everyone at the high school really appreciates all that Ricky does. One fan wrote on WLEX's Facebook page, "He truly deserves this! I love Ricky and his family." Another posted, "He was always nice to everyone and help[ed] everyone!!"

The Spauldings are planning to take their trip to Italy sometime this winter.