Overwhelmed colleagues respond with generosity
Friends, family, coworkers donate nearly $300K for Brad Zawislak in 3 days
A fundraiser for the family of the fifth victim of the Kelowna crane collapse has raised nearly $300,000 in three days.
Brad Zawislak, a married father-of-two, was working in a downtown office when the crane collapsed on the morning of July 12.
“This tragic loss will leave an unfillable void for his family,” the GoFundMe appeal states. “Brad was truly amazing, always quick with a smile, fast with a joke. He genuinely cared about the people near him,” says the appeal, posted by Zawislak’s family.
The fundraiser was created last Friday with a goal of $100,000. By Monday afternoon, more than $290,000 had been collected.
Zawislak, originally from Manitoba, was a civil engineering technologist employed by Protech Consulting. Many of the donations to the online appeal have come from companies that retained the services of Protech.
“Brad was an amazing person who our team all deeply appreciated and respected both personally and professionally,” says Kerkhoff Construction, builders of several Kelowna projects, which donated $15,000.
Protech’s office in the 1400 block of St. Paul Street was struck by part of the crane that collapsed while it was being taken down from the Brooklyn high-rise on the adjacent property.
Four workers on the construction site — brothers Eric and Patrick Stemmer, Jared Zook, and Cailen Vilness — were also killed when the crane collapsed. Online fundraisers have also been set up to aid their families.
A crowd of several hundred people gathered last Friday in downtown Kelowna to pay tribute to the victims.