Families and community members have launched multiple GoFundMe campaigns to assist victims and loved ones after the mass shooting earlier this week in Tumbler Ridge.
The fundraising efforts come after an 18-year-old attacker killed eight people — including six children and one educator — at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and a residence on Feb. 10, before dying by a self-inflicted wound. Two other people were seriously injured and remain in critical care.
An official fundraiser created by the Tumbler Ridge Parent Advisory Committee aims to support all families directly affected by the tragedy. Organisers say the funds will help provide essential assistance such as covering unexpected expenses, supporting daily needs, and helping with any ongoing recovery efforts. Donations have surpassed six hundred thousand dollars toward a goal of $750,000.
For people who are leery about GoFundMe, Lake View Credit Union has also set up a donation account to help coordinate aid in coordination with the Tumbler Ridge Parent Advisory Coucil. You can make a donation at any LVCU branch or etransfer TRStrong@lvcu.ca.
For people who don’t trust gofundme, and wish to donate directly to the family of Ticaria “Tiki” Lampert, you can e-transfer mom Sarah directly at sarahlampert@hotmail.com. Use the password: Ticaria
The TR Community Resiliency Fund has also been created to provide sustained, community-guided support in the months and years ahead. Initiatives and programs will be shaped by local leadership to meet evolving needs and ensure resources are directed where they are most needed.
Separate GoFundMe pages have been set up for individual victims and injured survivors
Organisers and families have expressed gratitude for the response, noting that community support has eased immediate financial pressure as they grieve and begin to look ahead.
For the most up to date information on the fundraisers and the official links to donate to these funds check out www.johnnymalcolm.com or find their page on Facebook.
Xochitl Smith is the president of the foundation. She says there have been a couple fake campaigns created. “There was a scam campaign circulating for Ezekiel unfortunately and then the GoFundraiser one that you had sent my way.” (Note: I was contacted by a reader who reported a suspicious site to me, which I passed on. “I haven’t seen any locals share that one, but Gloria who contacted you in the first place about it said it was still active and people were donating.”
The site has been reported to BC Legislators, but, says Smith, she doesn’t know what to do after that.
Then there are situations where there is more than one legitimate crowdfunding campaign for an individual. “Some have the same beneficiaries others do not. It gets complicated with family dynamics. We’ve opted to keep our list as simple as possible with one campaign per victim, with the beneficiaries being local to Tumbler Ridge. The campaigns on our website I can personally vouch are all verified.”
Which doesn’t mean that others aren’t. See earlier statement about complicated family dynamics. “I don’t want to say that any link that’s not on our site isn’t legitimate—bit I can promise the ones I’ve listed are.”
We reached out to GoFundMe to ask what happens in these cases where there are scam websites set up. “When there is a tragedy, GoFundMe immediately begins monitoring the platform for all new fundraisers created to help the victims, families, and the community,” says their media department. “When a fundraiser is created, we work with organizers to ensure the money is transferred to the right place. In addition to the team of experts, we deploy proprietary technical tools and have multiple processes in place to verify the identity of organizers and the recipient of the fundraiser. Before money is transferred, an individual or organization’s information, including their banking information, must be verified.”
That means that someone pretending to be Bob Smith, but who gives banking information as Tom Jones won’t get the money. Still, it isn’t perfect.
“While cases of misuse are very rare, we take swift action against those who exploit the generosity of our community, including through outright removal of the fundraiser, banning an account for violating our terms of service, and even pursuing potential legal recourse. The GoFundMe Giving Guarantee also protects donors by guaranteeing a full refund in the rare case something isn’t right.
So, unless the person you want to donate to isn’t listed at www.johnnymalcolm.com, we recommend use one of their veried links.
Sending heartfelt sympathies at this very tragic time.
Would you know if the GoFundraiser Tumbler Ridge PAS fund is legit?
I made a donation and received no confirmation.
Tried to contact TR PAC on their gofundme page but have not heard back. Tried to contact GoFundraiser and have not heard back.
Worried it might be a scam and people ar
As I’ve told you personally (but posting here for posterity), the Johnny Malcolm foundation is the holder of the verified fundraising information: https://www.johnnymalcolm.com
Note: Georgia sent a link, which I am not going to share, because we don’t think it is legit. Here’s a note from the president of the Johnny Malcolm Foundation: “Trent has forwarded me your concern. I cannot confirm if this GOfundraiser is a SCAM per se, however I can confirm that it is NOT the official fundraiser set up by TRPAC.
The official campaign set up by TRPAC can be found at the following link:
https://gofund.me/1fc6eb94a
Alternatively the local credit union has set up a bank account for e-transfer donations to avoid GoFundMe fees in accordance with TRPAC.”