On Wednesday, February 11, beloved actor James Van Der Beek died.
The actor was only 48 years old.
He left behind his wife and their six children. A GoFundMe was established to support his family after years of devastating medical costs.
The community has responded, rallying to help.
The crowdfunding campaign has outstripped expectations
Shortly after the news broke of James van Der Beek’s tragic passing, his friends launched a crowdfunding page for his family.
Initially, the goal was set at $250,000 to cover Kimberly Van Der Beek and their six children’s most immediate needs.
(Remember, colorectal cancer is the second most expensive type of cancer to combat — and had devastated Van Der Beek’s finances before his death)
The community more than rose to the occasion.
The GoFundMe page took in more than $1 million in donations and continues to climb.
On Wednesday, the GoFundMe goal was extended to $1.3 million — in the hopes of better providing for the family of seven and the future of all six children.
As of Thursday morning, the goal is now $1.5 million.
Given that it is already well above $1.3 million and has risen by the thousands in the time that it took to write this article, it’s well on its way.
In this case, it is smart to move the goalpost.
The outpouring of grief and sympathy is fresh now. If the Van Der Beeks find themselves in financial need in 5 years, they’d be less likely to gain this support then like they are now, when the loss is so recent.
Most of these are small donations
We should note that this is not a case of a small number of people making large donations that account for most of the donations.
The single largest donation is from a medical company, totaling $25,000.
Most of the donations that we surveyed were in the range of $25 or so — less than most of us spend ordering a food delivery.
The donations have come from over 27,000 individual donors who simply wanted to help.
It is heartwarming to see so many people — especially in a time of such deep economic troubles — open their hearts and wallets to give a grieving family a piece of security for the future.
Some may lament that the family of one deceased celebrity is getting these donations when other families in similar shoes are not.
To be honest, that is not the Van Der Beek family’s fault. It is also not GoFundMe’s fault.
If we want a just system where everyone gets the healthcare that they need without bankruptcy, we can do that as a society.
But our government has consistently refused to do this, instead allowing for-profit insurance to effectively sentence people to death, to bankruptcy, or to both.
Other people have spoken at greater length or taken direct action to combat this system. Until society fixes this on a federal level, countless families like the Van Der Beeks will grieve loved ones without celebrity memorabilia auctions or 7-figure fundraisers to help.
Money can provide security, but only a little comfort
James Van Der Beek leaves behind his wife, Kimberly.
The two share six children: 15-year-old Olivia, 13-year-old Joshua, 12-year-old Annabel, 9-year-old Emilia, 7-year-old Gwendolyn, and 4-year-old Jeremiah.
We can only imagine what they are going through.
As Van Der Beek himself acknowledges, talking to his kids about cancer was difficult because of widely varying ages and maturity levels.
Our hearts go out to them all in this time of grief.