The victim of a violent crime is getting some financial help thanks to an idea from one of his lifelong friends and the generosity of the community.
Mike Anderson started a GoFundMe page to help out his friend, Dillon Liberty. Liberty suffered injuries after a New Year's Eve stabbing at a downtown Windsor establishment.
The 23-year-old Thamesville resident remains in the hospital after having to get his spleen removed and punctures in his diaphragm and lung.
Anderson said he got the idea to create the GoFundMe page after people reached out to him wondering how they could help Liberty.
"There's only so much you can do. We were going to just basically pull some money together with friends, but then parents were asking, so I decided 'why not?' Then I got a couple of friends on board and they shared the word as well, and it's kind of blown up. It's incredible I can't believe it's gotten this far," said Anderson.
The fundraiser reached its initial goal of $2,500 less than six hours after it's creation on January 4.
Then, 16 hours later, it surpassed the $5,000 mark.
Although Anderson said he's speechless at the support, he's also not totally surprised.
"Some of the people I see giving money, they don't know him personally, but they're just part of the community," Anderson said. "He played for the Dresden Kings for four years. He gave a lot to the community and it's great to see the community give back to him. Honestly, I don't even know what to say, it's been incredible. Dillion is the type of person that everyone leans to. He always has a smile on his face. He doesn't have anything bad to say about anybody. He's the life of the party. He really didn't deserve this."
Anderson said the money raised will go to physical therapy for Liberty, wages lost from time off work and towards travel costs as Liberty's family shuttle back and forth between Thamesville to visit Liberty while he recovers in a Windsor hospital.