Donors Raise Over $500K For Destroyed Businesses In Ferguson

Small businesses in Ferguson, Missouri that suffered looting and damage due to recent riots will receive over $500,000 through multiple donors, according to a donation website.

In the days after a grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting of teenager Michael Brown, an angry wave of protesters took to the streets of Ferguson to flip police vehicles, loot and burn local businesses. Footage from Ferguson's main streets showed over one dozen local businesses up in flames just one night after the grand jury's decision was announced.

As The Washington Post reports, people across the nation began creating donation pages to help the small businesses destroyed by protesters. According to Kelsea Little, a spokesperson for the GoFundMe website, donations pages have successfully raise over $500,000 for small businesses like the Queen's Royal Touch hair salon, Ferguson Market and Liquor, and Natalie's Cakes & More.

Natalie Dubose, the owner of Natalie's Cakes & More, recalled the destruction of her business in a recent interview with Fox2 News in St. Louis. Since her building was destroyed, Dubose has received $250,000 from 8,000 donors to repair her shop.

"There was actually an eyewitness there. He actually lives in one of the buildings next to my cake shop, and he witnessed a few of the protesters attempting three different times to bust my windows out," she said.

The small business owner has said that despite the carnage, she plans to stay in Ferguson. "I've invested everything into my business. I can't go anywhere. I'm not going to go anywhere."

"It's really sad, because they didn't just affect us, they affected our children," she continued. "A lot of us, this is our only means of income, our businesses."