Taylor Swift Donates $15,000 to Firefighter Who Saved His Own Family

Esther Crain
·Writer
Updated
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Taylor Swift opened her pocketbook and made a generous donation to assist a mom and son hospitalized after a serious car accident. (Photo: Getty Images)

As a volunteer firefighter in Riverside, Texas, Aaron VanRiper is used to being called to the scene of devastating car accidents.

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But last Saturday, he responded to a call that turned out to involve his wife and son—both of whom where seriously injured when a pickup truck hit their car head-on, reported ABC13 in Houston. Aaron’s wife, Amber VanRiper, was hospitalized with a pelvis broken in five places. His 7-year-old son, Jonathan, who goes by the nickname Bear, fractured his arm and his leg.

Because the family didn’t have health insurance, a friend in their close-knit community set up a Go Fund Me page on Sunday to help with their medical expenses. As of Friday, the page had raised $100K of its $125K goal — including a $15K donation from a person signed “Taylor Swift.”

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“Not a lot of people are just gonna drop that,” Aaron told KHOU in Houston. “If it is her, I thank her from the bottom of my heart. She’s an amazing person.” Late Thursday, Billboard confirmed that it was the real Taylor Swift who made the contribution.

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Amber and son Bear before the devastating accident (Photo: GoFundMe)

“Taylor has a big heart,” Mandy Kibby, a friend of the couple, tells Yahoo Parenting. Kibby is the friend who set up the Go Fund Me page; she found about Swift’s donation when an astonished Aaron called her at 4 a.m. on Thursday morning.

“He said, ‘you’re not going to believe this’ and told me that someone gave $15,000 and left the name ‘Taylor Swift,’” says Kibby. “Aaron was in awe.” As news spread about Swift’s donation, it kick-started a surge in contributions, says Kibby.

That’s an enormous amount of money, but the VanRipers are facing enormous expenses. Luckily, their prognosis is good. Bear, who is now out of the hospital and getting around in a wheelchair until his broken leg heals, will need rehab and home care, says Kibby. Amber is still recovering from her injuries in the hospital. “She’ll need a lot of rehab and care too,” she adds.

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Seven-year-old Jonathan, known as Bear, is back home recovering, his broken arm and leg in casts (Photo: GoFundMe)

Besides donating, the Riverside community has helped in other ways, bringing puzzles and games for Bear so he stays busy and building the family a wheelchair ramp so Bear and Amber will be able to get around until they can walk again.

Swift hasn’t spoken out about her incredible gesture. But it solidifies her rep as one of the most charitable stars, both with her time and her bank account. Swift regularly visits sick kids in hospitals, donated song proceeds to the New York City school system, and gave the Red Cross $100K to help flood victims in Iowa. No wonder she was named one of Hollywood’s most charitable stars by the activist organization Do Something.

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