People were horrified at the brutal kidnapping and torture of a mentally-disabled teenager that was broadcasted on Facebook Live. While the perpetrators have been arrested and charged with a variety of things, including a hate crime, Razor Sheldon, the creator of the "Uplifting News" subreddit wanted to do something more. So, he rallied the troops with a "Call to Arms" and raised over $170,000 for the victim, who has been identified only by his first name, Austin.
The original goal of the fundraiser was only $5,000, which was quickly surpassed.
According to the Washington Post, Sheldon is in contact with Austin's family. They plan to use the money to provide their son with better mental health treatments, and they are "overwhelmed" by the kindness of strangers from Reddit.
Sheldon has been in touch with the victim’s family, he said, and Neal Strom, an attorney speaking for the family, told the Chicago Sun-Times, “My clients are overwhelmed with the warm, kind generosity of perfect strangers. It just came out of the clear blue sky. . . . It shows that there are good people out there after all [the victim] has been through.”
Strom described the family as working class with modest means, and said the six-figure sum will help provide the teen with better mental-health treatments both to deal with the stress of the incident and also his underlying illness.
While I'm sure everyone would have preferred that this awful attack had never happened, at least we can be reminded that good people still exist.