ASHLAND — Residents from near and far have donated more than $25,000 following costly damage to headstones and a military veterans memorial at Ashland Cemetery.
The financial donations continue to stream into a special fund established by the City of Ashland following the vandalism first reported on June 11.
So far the city has collected $25,735 in donations earmarked for the Ashland Cemetery, according to a document tracking donations.
The city’s finance office shows 22 individual donors. Most hail from Ashland. Others included addresses in Mansfield, Medina, Huron and Wilmot. But some are from cities in South Carolina, Indiana and Virginia.
The document doesn’t include pledges from organizations like the Ashland Elks Lodge #1360 commitment of up to $13,000 to upgrade video surveillance equipment at the property.
It also does not include donations collected through other means, such as a GoFundMe page launched by Ashley Canfield, or Miss Ashland County. Her fundraiser purports to have collected $1,446, as of Wednesday.
Most of the money donated to the city’s special account, $17,350, will be set aside for the replacement of the Ashland County Fallen Heroes Memorial.
How to give
- Make checks out to “City of Ashland Cemetery Fund”
- In memo, designate the funds to “military memorial” or “where the need is most.”
Source: Sara Fisher, Ashland County Historical Society Executive Director
Various individuals and organizations have rallied to raise money. Turk Brothers Custom Meats plans to host a cookout on July 26.
Donations are a far cry from what officials have estimated repairs to cost. They have put that figure between $250,000 and $285,000.
Police were not immediately available to provide an update to the case. As of June 25, there are no suspects, said Capt. Craig Kiley.
The Ashland Cemetery Association, a nonprofit, serves as the graveyard’s governing board. It was established in 1876 and the site sprawls 75 acres with 17,000 gravesites.
