Randy Park, 23, created a GoFundMe account on Thursday to raise money for rent, food and other expenses after his mother, Hyun Jung Grant, 51, was killed Tuesday. Grant was one of nine victims in the shooting spree at spas in Atlanta and Cherokee County.
“She was one of my best friends and the strongest influence on who we are today,” Park wrote on the GoFundMe. “As much as I want to grieve and process the reality that she is gone, I have a younger brother to take care of and matters to resolve as a result of this tragedy.”
Park had set a goal of raising $20,000. But as of Saturday the account, which GoFundMe verified, had garnered more than $2.4 million. Park expressed his gratitude in a touching post.
“I don’t know how any word I write here will ever convey how grateful and blessed I am to receive this much support,” he said, writing that his family has been given “a second chance.”
According to the GoFundMe page, more than 63,000 people donated money to Park and his brother.
“To those of you that have donated any amount of money. To put it bluntly, I can’t believe you guys exist,” Park wrote. “People I will probably never meet, hear, nor express my thanks to. This is simply a change in my life. Thank you everyone so much. This doesn’t represent even a fragment of how I feel.”
Park, who works as a cashier at a bakery, told NBC News that he and his younger brother grew up in Seattle with their mother. She moved them south about 13 years ago for a better life and because of Atlanta’s rich Korean history.
Grant worked long days and would usually sleep at the spa she worked at in Atlanta instead of driving the 30 miles to Duluth, where the family lived.
“She spent her whole life just existing for my brother and I. She never had time to travel,” Park said in an interview Friday. “She would only be home a certain amount of days every few weeks.”
+ There are no comments
Add yours