One day after two students and a custodian at Rigby Middle School were injured in a school shooting, at least $47,000 has been raised to help fund their recoveries.
A slew of fundraisers has exploded on the Internet and social media in the hours since the shooting took place. GoFundMe confirmed that donations from at least four pages on its site — which have pulled nearly $50,000 in donations as of Friday afternoon — will go directly to the victims as they recover, EastIdahoNews.com reported.
“These fundraisers have been vetted and verified by our Trust and Safety Team, which will work with the campaign organizer to ensure the funds are transferred directly to those involved in this incident,” regional GoFundMe spokesman Jeff Platt told EastIdahoNews.com.
The aid comes after a sixth-grade girl allegedly pulled a pistol from her backpack and shot two students and a custodian on Thursday morning. The custodian has since been released from the hospital, though EdNews has so far been unable to confirm whether the students have been discharged. Thursday afternoon, they were said to be in stable condition.
Jefferson School District has cancelled classes Monday. Meanwhile, administrators are meeting with mental health agencies and school counselors to plan for a return to classes Tuesday, Superintendent Chad Martin wrote in a letter to parents Friday.
“I want to thank you for the outpouring of love and support we have received from our community,” Martin wrote. The events that took place yesterday are something that every educator and parent fears and hopes never to experience. However, tragedy seems to bring out the good in many and that is definitely the case with our community.”
That “good” has included local soda shop Pick Me Up collecting donations for the victims, pledging to match up to $10,000 in contributions. The Upper Valley Advocacy Center has received an outpouring of water and snack donations, leaving it “about at capacity,” the center announced on Facebook.
The center, which advocates against child abuse, is accepting monetary donations through its website. Donors can mention Rigby Middle School in a note attached to their gift.
The four verified GoFundMe pages can be found here:
- Prayers for Jim Wilson
- Shooting victim- Helping Erick recover
- School shooting victim please help Addison recover
- Rigby Strong-School Shooting-Victims and Heroes
In related news, two guns-in-schools bills won’t make another appearance in the Legislature this year.
Idaho Education News reporters Blake Jones and Nik Streng contributed to this report.
