GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. – In an extraordinary act of forgiveness, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have raised more than $280,000 for the family of the man who attacked their church in Michigan last week.
Dave Butler, a Mormon from Utah with no connection to the tragedy, launched the fundraiser to support the widow and son of Thomas Jacob Sanford, who killed four people and injured eight others in an attack on a Grand Blanc Township church on September 28.
“I’ve just been standing in this kind of whirlpool of feelings of love and forgiveness and support,” Butler said.
The fundraising campaign on GiveSendGo reached $100,000 within its first 12 hours.
The initiative has drawn support from more than 7,000 donors, many of them members of the LDS faith, with contributions ranging from $10 to $5,000. Donors have left messages of support, saying “Hope you are able to find peace” and “You are loved.”
“We read the Bible, and we try to live it. We try to do what James says when he tells us to take care of the widows and the orphans,” Butler said.
Butler said the fundraiser aims to help Sanford’s wife and son, who faces ongoing medical challenges with a rare condition.
“They didn’t lose the guy who walked into the chapel and rammed it with his truck and started shooting people. That’s the madman who ended it. The guy they lost was the dad who was there for them, the brother who was there for them, who was the favorite uncle,” Butler said.
Butler said he spoke with the Sanford family, who expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support.
“I’m quite convinced that if I had not done this, somebody else would have,” Butler added. “The story isn’t me. The story is about what’s happening in the community.”