After a fire destroyed multiple buildings and businesses in downtown Dubois last Tuesday, town residents set up a fundraising page to help those affected.
The money is being raised through the crowd funding website “Go Fund Me.” The organizers are planning to turn over the money to the local non-profit Needs of Dubois, which helps residents financially in times of crisis.
Ellen Jungck is the president of “Needs of Dubois.” She says the organization will use the money to help pay for things like food, utility bills, and rent bills for victims of the fire.
"We would pay service providers directly. That’s an advantage to people that are recipients of the funds, because they don’t have to claim that as taxable income when they’re already financially strapped. And it helps us as an organization maintain an accountability system to the donors that we have," she says.
And she says she’s already seen an outpouring of generosity in the community.
"People in Dubois are very charismatic and they tend to rally. I’ve already seen things that people are looking at ways you know 'how can we rebuild?' 'How are we gonna help these people?" she says.
The go-fund-me page shows a goal of $50,000. 100 people have already donated, raising almost $10,000 by Friday afternoon.
People can donate to victims of the Dubois fire directly at www.needsofdubois.org or at www.gofundme.com/duboisfire.