Donations pour in for families of Atlanta shooting victims
(AP Photo/Ben Gray)Shortly after his mother was killed in the Atlanta-area shootings, Randy Park launched a GoFundMe page asking for $20,000 to pay for funeral expenses. For now, donors to victims of the Atlanta shootings must scour individual GoFundMe accounts. A page for Yong Yueโs family drew more than $115,000. AdPark's family was the first to launch a GoFundMe page. This is simply a change in my life,โ Park wrote to the 70,000 people who had contributed as of Sunday afternoon.
1st trans woman to run for Florida Senate District 6 explains what Womenโs History Month means to her
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ During the month of March, News4Jax is highlighting the contributions women have made to history, culture and society. On Sunday, News4Jax sat down with Brooklyn Owen, the first trans woman to run for Florida Senate District 6, to see what Womenโs History Month means to her. โIt really is the time to empower women,โ said Owen, a Jacksonville native. โI am not running because I am a trans woman, I am running because we need to fix education and we need to fix climate and we need to do it yesterday,โ Owen said. โSo that means we need to act now.โLike women before her, Owen said her goal is to contribute to Womenโs History Month in a way that lifts up the women of the future.
Family launches fundraiser to recover from shrimp boat fire
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ Days after a fire sank two boats in the St. Johns River, the family of the Triton set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for the removal and recovery of the boat. โMy families very humble and grateful.โThe Thompson family told News4Jax they could face federal fines of $47,000 per day until the boat is removed from the water because of the potential environmental fallout in the river. Itโs an accident.โThe boat is owned by Eddie Thompson, a Mayport native, who started fishing as a young child. The family said the fire started on the Iris Marie shrimp boat nearby and spread to the Triton. To help the family cover the cost of the boatโs removal and recovery, theyโve set up a GoFundMe page.
Boy, 5, Thrown From Mall of America Balcony by Stranger Now Recovering at Home
A 5-year-old boy who was thrown off a third-story balcony at the Mall of America in a random attack nearly five months ago has recovered enough to leave the hospital, his loved ones said. Landen completed inpatient rehabilitation and has entered the next phase of recovery, which will take place at his home, his family said Tuesday on GoFundMe. Landen will undergo continued outpatient rehabilitation for multiple injuries and adjusting to life back at home and school, his family said. Landen was with his family at the Minnesota mall on April 12 when a stranger grabbed him and threw him over the balcony, officials said. RELATED STORIESMan Who Threw Boy at Mall of America Gets 19 Years in PrisonMore Than $500K Raised for Little Boy Thrown Off Mall of America BalconyToddler Is Recovering After Being Hit by Shrapnel, Losing Teeth in Texas Shooting
Pa. duo faked birth, death for GoFundMe
The couple raised a total of $550 from the GoFundMe, according to a company spokeswoman. Photographs of baby Easton were posted on the couple's Facebook pages, and the baby matched the "appearance of a newborn look-a-like baby doll," the complaint said. Police say they were unable to find any record that baby Easton ever existed. Police checked with the coroner's office in Somerset and Cambria County and neither had records of an Easton Lang, according to the complaint. CNN has also attempted to reach out to the people who gave the couple money and gifts.
Donated funds will help bury boy who deputies say died of abuse
The woman who created a GoFundMe page for 5-year-old Matthew (Mateo) Ortega confirms hes the Kingsland boy who died Monday from abuse. The Camden County Sheriff's Office arrested the child's mother, Maria Miranda Alas, from El Salvador, on a charge of murder and her boyfriend for making false statements. The Sheriff's Office said Alas flagged down a deputy Monday and communicated through broken English that the boy in her lap was unconscious. The couple was escorted to Camden Medical Center. As the child's condition worsened, he was flown by air ambulance to Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, where he died.
Be careful about donating through crowdfunding
A crowdfunding campaign might say money is needed to pay medical bills or college or funeral expenses. A 2016 survey by the Pew Research Center found that one in five respondents have donated to a crowdfunding campaign, with about half giving from $11 to $50. But be wary about giving to crowdfunding campaigns, especially if you do not know the person asking for cash. It's often difficult to know whether a crowdfunding campaign is legitimate. What to DoHere's what you should know if you're thinking of giving to a crowdfunding campaign.