On Friday night, The Voice contestant Christina Grimmie was shot and killed while greeting fans following a concert in Orlando.
She was just 22 years old.
Members of Christina’s family have shared their grief in heartbreaking social media messages, and while nothing can heal the wounds of such a senseless tragedy, they can hopefully find some comfort in the fact that their loss is shared by fans from all corners of the globe.
In addition to her prodigious talent, Christina connected with millions through her tremendous energy and spirit, and when the opportunity arose to show her family how much of an impact the singer made in her brief time on Earth, fans answered the call en masse.
Christina’s manager, Brian Teefey, created a GoFundMe page to support the Grimmie family in this dark time.
The goal was to raise $ 4,000 to help them cover funeral expenses.
That goal was reached within minutes of the page going live, but the outpouring of support didn’t stop there.
At this point, less than 48 hours since the campaign began, over 4,500 fans have raised nearly $ 170,000.
Teefey, who had worked with Grimmie from the very start of her career, posted the following message on the page:
“Words cannot begin to describe the pain I am feeling. I learned this business through the eyes of a father and Christina was like a second daughter to me.
“All I wanted to do was assist her in achieving her musical dreams while protecting her from the pitfalls associated with the business.
“I never could have imagined this horrific event being one of the pitfalls needing to be avoided. In Christina’s honor I have created a Go Fund Me page to assist her family in their time of need.
“As family Mother, Father, and Brother made the ultimate family sacrifice to support Christina on her musical journey. They did nothing but love her and support her as family the best they knew how, the only worry I want them to have at this point is that of recovery.”
Click here to donate to the Grimmie family.