An online campaign to raise money for the families of Corporal Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent has quickly surpassed several goals, reaching $550,000 as of Tuesday.
The Stand On Guard Fund was created by a group of federal lobbyists and political staffers on Oct. 22, hours after Cirillo was shot and killed at the Canadian War Memorial.
'We were well past our goal of $10,000 by noon (the next day), and then we got a call from Canada's banks saying they wanted to give us $80,000. And then the snowball really started rolling,' said Chad Rogers, one of the organizers.
The founders wanted to express their sympathy for the deaths of the two soldiers in more than just words, Rogers said.
'We just started emailing different friends who were from different parties and different firms around Ottawa, and said, 'Do you want to help?' '
Cirillo was slain by Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who himself was killed moments later in a shootout with police and security staff in Parliament's Centre Block. Vincent died on Oct. 20 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., after he was intentionally struck by a car driven by Martin Rouleau-Couture, who was shot and killed by police the same day.
True Patriot Love Foundation, a charity dedicated to helping military families, agreed to work with the fund organizers, said David Fascinato, the foundation's manager of special projects.
After the campaign at http://www.indiegogo.com closes at midnight, Oct. 31, the foundation will direct half the funds to a trust set up for Cirillo's son, Marcus, by the Argyll Regimental Foundation, a charity of Cirillo's military unit, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada.
The foundation has not yet contacted the family of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, but is working to ensure half of the money from the Stand On Guard Fund reaches the family, said Fascinato.
The collective donation from TD Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Scotiabank was organized by Gary Clement, a fund founder who works as senior government relations manager for TD Bank.
Tim Hortons, Loblaw Companies Ltd. and other corporations made their own sizable donations, as did a large Canadian manufacturer that wished to remain anonymous, Rogers said.
Individual donors have contributed from 21 countries, he said. TV host Rosie O'Donnell topped them all with a $10,000 donation.
O'Donnell stirred controversy last week after she described a Twitter message by model Chrissy Teigen - which read, 'active shooting in Canada, or as we call it in America, wednesday (sic)'- as a 'brilliant and on point' critique of gun control problems in the United States. Many called the comment insensitive.
Mosques and a Sikh temple have also contributed, Rogers said, and the fund got a plug from Don Cherry on his Coach's Corner television segment Saturday.
Post By http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/10/29/online-fund-for-nathan-cirillo-and-patrice-vincent-hits-550000-in-just-six-days/
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