Update: Here’s a statement from Gears’s GoFundMe:
First, as always, my most profound thanks. So much support and love in such a short time is…just amazing. Truly, seeing how many lives my work has touched has given me the drive to not only beat this thing, but to also get to work producing more work. It’s the least i can do to try and show my appreciation for a debt i can never really repay.
We’re very near 20, 000 as of me writing this. Note: as of the writing of this post, the campaign has broken $20,000. In less than…48-72 hours or so. I won’t be moving the goal again for two reasons:
First, because i feel it somewhat downplays people’s work and devotion. It was mainly done due to concerns that “if the goal’s met, people will tune out”. Perhaps, perhaps not, but for someone who expected nothing, this is amazing.
Second, you people both delight and frighten me, and i worry if i set higher goals you’ll just keep meeting them.
I plan to keep this going until after my surgery, and close once we know i’m fully out of the woods. If you wish, please feel free to donate as we go forward, post well-wishes, and pictures. Every drop of support helps in whatever form. I’ll continue to update as i have new information.
I know i’ve said it often, but i will never be able to say it enough: thank you so much, from the bottom of my clockwork heart.
And a personal note from “RL Clef.”
Gears won’t say it, so I will: $20,000 is enough that he and his family have enough breathing space so that they can see a path through this rough time. But there are a lot of things that can go wrong, and a lot of problems that could still come up. Anything above and beyond his target will go to a good cause, even if it’s just being able to add a little joy to their lives so that the stress and fear can be relieved for a little bit. So if you were thinking of donating to the campaign (even if it’s just a few bucks!) please do so.
In addition, I’ve been seeing a lot of messages from people saying that they would like to give to the campaign, but their personal financial situation doesn’t allow it. For those of you, I encourage you to use your talents and abilities to help out in other ways. I know for a fact that the “dank memes” coming from a certain corner of the internet has raised his and his wife’s spirit: I think he called it “the modern online equivalent of flowers and balloons.”
Finally, from me and on behalf of the other members of the old-school SCP Foundation community: thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts. There’s been a kind of beauty in seeing something we did for fun back in the day coming back around and doing some real good.