River Heights Elementary School supports custodian during cancer diagnosis with fundraiser. Courtesy/Carlene Keetley

By Jayk Sterkenburg

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Medicine Hat school rallies around custodian in support during cancer diagnosis

Mar 23, 2025 | 5:15 PM

Tayler Grant, head custodian at River Heights Elementary School, was recently diagnosed with bladder cancer, and is being supported by the school with fundraising efforts.

“A lot of people get up in the morning- they ‘have’ to go to work. I don’t. I get up in the morning, and I ‘get’ to go to work,” said Grant.

“I get to go hang out with these amazing kids, these amazing people.”

Grant said the hardest thing right now is being away from the students, because they make every day at the school worth it.

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A student helps out Grant with custodian work at River Heights school. Courtesy/Carlene Keetley

Carlene Keetley, grade five teacher at River Heights, arranged the fundraiser for Grant with an online auction of donated items.

Keetley said the kids at the school seek Grant out, running around the school doing jobs for him, and Grant is always there to greet them with a smile.

“Tayler is one of those people who show up for you every single day. He makes your life easier. He tries to interact and build a community together,” she said.

“He puts inspirational photos in our staff bathrooms for us. He has a board in the hallway for the kids that he keeps track of all of the NHL stats,” she added.

“He really values relationships with all the people he interacts with.”

Carlene Keetley. Jayk Sterkenburg/CHAT News

Keetley said River Heights is all about community, both in the school and the city.

She said the staff and students show up for each other all of the time, and that it’s great to see how much they rally around each other in times like this.

Keetley said, with the fundraiser, she wanted Grant to know that it was more than just about the money, but the community around him as well.

Grant said he would have never imagined receiving the amount of support he has through the River Heights community.

He said he enjoys taking part in activities around the school and trying to do whatever he can to make everybody’s day a little bit better.

Courtesy/Carlene Keetley

“[It’s] just an amazing group of kids. I love being there with them in the morning. I love seeing them smile,” Grant said.

“They’re so full of personality and fun. They just bring joy to every day.”

The online auction will run until the end of March, and monetary donations can also be made to yougotthistayler@gmail.com, with 100 per cent of funds going towards Grant’s treatment.