GoFundMe for ESPN Reporter’s Son Whose Parents Died From Cancer Raises $1 Million
The GoFundMe campaign continues to grow for Parker Dickerson, the son of ESPN Chicago Bears reporter Jeff Dickerson who recently died from complications with colon cancer.
ESPN's Adam Schefter gave $5,000 to increase the Parker Dickerson fund to $1 million on Friday. Jeff died in the same hospice facility where his wife, Caitlin, died two years ago, on Tuesday. Caitlin was diagnosed with melanoma and dealt with its complications for over seven years.
Every dollar raised in the fund will go toward directly supporting Parker's education, health, welfare and his athletics.
”Parker’s life was forever changed twice this week, first when he lost his second parent, then when over 14,000 people came together to try to make his future a little easier. THANK YOU to all,” Schefter said in a tweet.
When the fund was initially created, the goal was to raise $100,000. On Wednesday, a day after Dickerson's death, the fund had raised nearly $600,000.
The monetary contributions for Parker have come from noteworthy athletes, teams and significant members of the sports community. The Seahawks and the Rams donated $2,500; Colts owner Jim Irsay and WFT owners Tanya and Daniel Snyder each gave $25,000; Cubs’ president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer gave $1,500; and former Panthers star Greg Olsen and current Chicago quarterback Andy Dalton each donated $5,000.
Other members like Texans’ EVP Jack Easterby and his wife, Holly donated $2,000. The Chicago Blackhawks Foundation and the Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts each donated $5,000 while Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie provided $10,000 to Parker’s fund.
As of Friday afternoon, more than 7,400 people have donated $1,016,220.