Chris Lane Memorial Site Raises $89,000 (737 hits)
(The Sydney Morning Herald) An online drive to raise funds for the family of slain Australian baseballer Chris Lane has skyrocketed past its intended target. The website was started by a close friend of Mr Lane's, Marshall Veal, who lives in Oklahoma and played baseball with "Laney". "He became like a brother to me," Mr Veal posted on the website. ...
Mr Lane's family posted a message of thanks early on Thursday morning, saying they were overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers. "We are so grateful for everyone's generosity and truly are touched by the support we have received," the message read.
"We are blessed to now be able to give Chris the farewell he deserves and any remaining money will go into a Christopher Lane Fund which will provide support to an organization Christopher was passionate about. "We just can not believe how many lives Christopher has touched and glad we can do so much in his memory."
Many donations were anonymous and ranged between $US10-500.
John Bladen, of Oklahoma, donated $US100 and posted, "I'm so sorry for your loss. It is a disgrace for the United States."
Julian Sanchez donated $US10 and added a personal touch: "I don't know Chris Lane at all but deep inside of me is nothing but anguish and sorrow for such a senseless loss at such a young age! Please send my condolences to his Girl Friend, friends and families in Australia!" ...
Mr Lane, 22, was jogging along a quiet street on Friday afternoon in Duncan when he ran past three boys aged 15, 16 and 17 who wanted to kill someone, it is alleged. Local police chief Danny Ford said in an interview with Fairfax Media that the 17-year-old had told police that as Mr Lane had run past, one of them had said, “That's our target” and had pursued him before shooting him with a small calibre handgun.
Mr Lane - who grew up in Oak Park in Melbourne's north - and Ms Harper (Lane's girlfriend) recently travelled to Australia for an eight week break to visit the star baseballer's friends and family. The pair had been back in the US for just three days and Mr Lane was staying with Ms Harper in Duncan before going back to Oklahoma's East Central University, where he majored in finance and was on a baseball scholarship, playing the position of catcher on the team.
People from all over the world have reached out through emails, comments, and donations. The online donation fund will continue to take donations and comments until August 31, 2013. Thank you so much, the Christopher Lane Fund http://www.gofundme.com/3zktjc
