Students Help Durham Custodian Achieve Lifelong Dream

Durham, N.C. — A Durham school custodian is on the trip of a lifetime, thanks in part to some generous students.

Joe Venable, 71, said he had always wanted to visit the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Students and faculty at Mangum Elementary School, along with local churches and clubs, raised money to make his dream come true.

"The fifth-graders go together and they raised the money, and it was great. I couldn't believe it," he said. "For fifth-graders to do that, to think of somebody else other than themselves, it was great."

Venable and his wife, Alease, are spending three days in the Bay Area.