CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Four organizations have been identified to benefit from the GoFundMe established in Jared Hunt's name, his father Jeff told 3NEWS on Thursday afternoon.
A GoFundMe honoring the memory of the 25-year-old Calallen High School graduate -- one of the men killed in a Port Aransas boating crash July 13 -- was met with immense support from the community, soaring past its goal of $25,000 to nearly $40,000, after being online fewer than 24 hours.
On Thursday, the goal had been increased to $50,000 and fundraising efforts were closing in on $49,000.
Jeff Hunt said none of the money collected would be used for funeral expenses, and instead would be put into a fund that would draw interest and be used to fund scholarships and support philanthropic efforts for organizations close to Jared's and the family's hearts: the Nueces County Junior Livestock Show, Sea City Work Camp, the Texas A&M University Association of Former Students Ring Scholarship fund and the Phi Theta Delta fraternity's efforts to help dependents of those with Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS).
Jared participated in both the NCJLS and Sea City Work Camp, and was a member of the Phi Theta Delta fraternity.
His father said that Jared's Texas A&M class ring was lost during the boating accident. It was inside a brown canvas Jon Hart bag with tan leather straps, and asks that people be on the lookout for his son's treasured possessions.
In the meantime, Jeff Hunt said "our beautiful friends" have banded together to replace Jared's ring to ensure that he can be buried with it, but eventually hope to be reunited with the one his son wore.
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