UPDATE: The Humboldt Broncos GoFundMe campaign has collected more than $10 million as of Wednesday afternoon.
As donations continue to pour into a GoFundMe campaign for those affected by the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash, the fundraiser has quickly become one of the top campaigns in history.
The fundraiser was initially set for $10,000 but within 24 hours, it had raised more than $1 million. By Monday afternoon it had reached $6 million.
LISTEN: The GoFundMe account for the Humboldt Broncos hockey team is now biggest in Canadian history
GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon says the campaign is now the largest to date in Canada, followed by the fundraising efforts for the Fort McMurray fires, which raised just over $1 million.
Solomon said it’s rare to see the whole world come together to support a campaign like this.
“We’ve seen more than 70,000 people donate and we’ve seen donations come in from more than 65 countries.”
Fifteen people were killed in the crash and 14 were injured when the bus carrying the junior hockey team collided with a semi-truck in an intersection on Highway 35 near Tisdale, Sask.
WATCH: Canadians remember Humbolt Broncos crash victims with hashtag #PutYourSticksOut
After the incident, Humboldt resident Sylvie Kellington set up the GoFundMe page to raise money for the survivors and the families of the victims.
Kellington said despite not being related to any of the players, she wanted to find a way to give back to the team that had given so much to their community.
“They are such an integral part of our community. They go to our daughter’s school and work with the kids there,” Kellington told CKNW. “I work at a hair salon in town and they’re always in our shop getting their hair done.”
“They’re all over in the community being helpful.”
WATCH: Flowers have been placed on several vehicles belonging to Humboldt Broncos players following the fatal bus crash which occurred Friday in Saskatchewan.
By Monday night the GoFundMe had become one of the top five largest campaigns across the globe. If the GoFundMe surpasses the $6.7-million mark, it would make it the number three campaign around the world.
The Las Vegas Victims Fund, which raised $11.8 million, is currently number one, with the Support Victims of Pulse Shooting in 2016 that raised $7.8 million at number two.
“When tragedy strikes, people want to help each other out, they want to come together. And the community around the world has come together to say, ‘We want to support you Humboldt and we want to support the Broncos and we’re here to help,'” Solomon said.
He said the company will help set up a group of “overseers” from the community to make sure the funds are distributed properly.
Broncos president Kevin Garinger said the amount of money raised so far was “staggering,” adding the money will be used to support the needs of victims and those who have survived.
“We want to make sure we do the right thing to support our families,” he said.
Hollis explained that because of a change in the fundraising platform’s pricing structure in December, someone’s “entire donation will go to the beneficiary of the campaign.”
WATCH: The RCMP were the first to lay a cross at the scene where a tractor-trailer truck and the bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos crashed on Friday evening.
In the past, a platform fee of five per cent was added to each campaign as a way to manage costs associated with the site, Hollis said.
In light of that fee, GoFundMe has introduced “voluntary tipping” to offset technology, safety and customer service costs. Donors can choose to tip in a drop-down menu, which defaults to 10-15 per cent, but people can switch it to 0 per cent.
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