Daily BrewFundraising campaign collects $700K for families of Cpl. Cirillo and W.O. Vincent
A fundraising drive borne in a Toronto living room and the back of a San Francisco cab has raised more than $700,000 in the week following a terrorism-linked assault in Ottawa, to help support the families of two soldiers killed in recent attacks.
The Stand on Guard campaign is being credited as proof that a grassroots, social movement can make a significant positive difference in society.
Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo were killed in separate attacks two days apart last week, both linked to terrorist ideologies.
Vincent, who was run over in a parking lot near a military base in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., on Monday, left behind family, including a mother and a twin sister.
Cirillo, who was shot dead while standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Wednesday, left behind a girlfriend and a five-year-old son, Marcus.
The dual attacks put the nation on alert and led to an outpouring of emotion for the victims and their families. While the nation mourned, two concerned citizens launched a fundraising campaign for those left behind.
According to a thank you letter posted online, Kasra Nejatian and Chad Rogersfirst thought of the idea while discussing the issue on Twitter; Chad sat in his Toronto living room while Nejatian was riding in a San Francisco Uber car.
The mission quickly spread online.
"Everyone we reached out to had a shared goal: to show these families that a whole nation grieved with them," the thank-you letter reads. "Their loved ones didn’t die in vain: they died for us, and they will never, ever be forgotten."
In a matter of hours, the pair had reached its target of $10,000. Within a week, they had reached $700,000.
Here’s how they got there:
After reaching their first goal, a small group of supporters launched a social media campaign and starting calling friends and colleagues.
A short time later, a friend who worked at TD Bank reached out to other major financial institutions, specifically Scotiabank, CIBC and RBC, and secured a donation of $80,000.
From there, they joined with the True Patriot Love Foundation to organize the quickly-growing campaign.
By the end of one week, they had raised $700,000, with donations coming from regular people, religious groups, unions and companies.
Some donations were as little as $1, while some reached as much as $50,000.
"Some say that Canadians are apathetic, that online activism is just a bunch of clicks and wasted time," the letter reads.
"We cannot thank you enough for donating, sharing and stepping up so that all of our grief, shock and sadness could be turned into a living, lasting memorial for these two families."
The True Patriot Love Foundation is a national fundraising organization focused on protecting and assisting veterans and their families. They have raised more than $14 million that has gone to support military families, pay for physiotherapy and rehabilitation for injured veterans and mental health assistance and research.
The money raised through the Stand on Guard Fund will be equally split between the families of Cirillo and Vincent.
The True Patriot Love Foundation is also running a separate fundraising campaign for the Marcus Cirillo Trust, the proceeds of which will go directly to Cirillo’s son, Marcus.
“Grassroots movements like the Stand on Guard Fund are the truest demonstrations of our nation standing together in their support for the members of our Canadian Armed Forces and their families,” said True Patriot Love chair Shaun Francis.
