HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — A father, dead of cancer. A mother, in the hospital with an aneurysm.
A Harford County family is battling through incredible tragedy. But the community is rallying behind them - with more than $50,000 donated to a GoFundMe meant to help that family.
We all have a Guy Santoro in our lives. A father, a husband, a beloved softball coach. Humble, giving, putting family and community before all.
"He would have given you a shirt of his back, and he didn't expect anything," said Casey Brooks, Santoro's cousin and owner of the Brookside Market in Phoenix.
It was just before Thanksgiving. Guy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. On December 10, it cut his life tragically short.
At his viewing, WMAR is told, Guy's wife, Holly, was sent to the hospital with an aneurysm.
"The family's doing as you could expect. Information comes out slowly but surely with Holly, the girls' mother, Guy's wife, it's just a day by day and we have to take it as it comes," Brooks added.
Out of tragedy, an outpouring of support: a GoFundMe for the Santoro family is skyrocketing. It opened a few days ago, and has already shattered the $50,000 goal set for it, with more than 600 donations.
From $5 donations from familiar faces, to $1,000 donated anonymously, the community is showing its support to Holly and her two daughters.
"Everybody can relate, and especially, this time of year, and it's a sad, sad story, but anything we can to get it to the next level for the girls, is what we're going to do," Brooks said.
The Brookside Market promoted the GoFundMe on its social media, and matched donations with gift cards. Any share, Brooks explained, helps.
"We wanted to energize it by saying, if you donate $50 we'll match it with a gift card. If you donate $100 we'll match it with a gift card for $100," Brooks told WMAR.
The money donated to the GoFundMe is earmarked for that family as they battle through this difficult time; making a world of difference after a series of days which changed theirs.
"I can speak on behalf of the family - everybody is ecstatic for the girls who will receive this," Brooks said.