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Duck boat tragedy: How to help victims and their families

There are several organizations raising money for the 17 victims' families.
Credit: Andrew Jansen/News-Leader
Dianne Lovell and her husband Jim Lovell place flowers and a teddy bear at a memorial outside Ride the Ducks in Branson on Friday.

Members of the community are coming together to support victims and families impacted by Thursday's disaster on Table Rock Lake.

An amphibious duck boat carrying 29 passengers and two crew members capsized after being overwhelmed by furious gusts of wind and tall waves. Seventeen people, including five children, are dead. Nine of those who died were from the Coleman family, who were visiting Branson from the Indianapolis area.

Fresh flowers, teddy bears and balloons were placed on vehicles that were still parked at Ride the Ducks in Branson Friday morning. The memorial continued to grow throughout the day.

Organizations have set up fundraisers. Here's how you can help:

Community Foundation of the Ozarks

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is accepting donations.

Donations can be made by credit card at cfozarks.org/donate, by choosing the "Branson Area Disaster Relief Fund" at the top of the drop-down menu.

Checks can be sent to Community Foundation of the Ozarks, P.O. Box 8960, Springfield, MO, 65801.

Additional information and updates can be found at givebranson.org.

Louise Knauer, Community Foundation of the Ozarks chief operating officer, said Saturday morning that the foundation will work with local leaders and case managers including the American Red Cross to help with needs such as funeral, travel and transportation expenses for victims and families.

She said that information about money raised so far could be available Monday, after the foundation's finance staff can count donations made by check and credit card.

GoFundMe set up by Table Rock Lake Chamber of Commerce in Kimberling City

Lynn Berry, spokeswoman for the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and CVB, said that a GoFundMe crowdfunding effort had been set up Friday afternoon to aid the families of the victims.

According to the GoFundMe page, funds will be collected and distributed by the Skaggs Foundation, which promotes health and wellness in Stone and Taney counties.

As of midday Saturday, about $21,000 had been collected, according to the GoFundMe page.

More information is available at gofundme.com/table-rock-cares.

GoFundMe efforts for Coleman family of Indiana

Multiple GoFundMe accounts were set up to support the 11-member Coleman family, nine of whom died in Thursday night's tragedy.

An account named "Only Official Duck Boat Survivors" had raised more than $16,000 as of midday Saturday.

"The funds will go directly to Tia (Coleman)," said Katherine Cichy, a spokeswoman for GoFundMe, in an email.

More information is available at gofundme.com/branson-duck-boat-survivor.

The News-Leader has reached out to GoFundMe to learn whether other GoFundMe accounts supporting families of the deceased are authentic and will update this story when information is available.

Cichy, the spokeswoman, said so far GoFundMe officials "have seen no misuse on the platform related to this event and guarantee all funds get to the right place."

Hurts Donut

Hurts Donut's Branson location at 1600 W. Highway 76 is making a special "honorary" doughnut for the victims of the tragedy.

Kas Clegg, Hurts Donut co-founder, told the News-Leader that 100 percent of sales from the honorary doughnuts between now and midnight "will be donated in an effort to support the surviving victims and the families of the victims that passed."

The doughnuts are decorated with "TRL" (Table Rock Lake), flowers, crosses and hearts.

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