Much of the world's attention has been on Ferguson, Mo., in the past few days, as a grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown spawned a series of protests and riots. Especially in Ferguson, many of these protests have been violent. Many buildings and businesses unconnected with the shooting or the jury's decision have been subject to looting and damage.
One of those buildings was Natalie's Cakes & More, a bakery located at 100 S. Florissant Road in Ferguson. According to the Daily Caller, the shop's windows were shattered during the riots on Monday night, and several baking materials were destroyed. A GoFundMe account in support of Natalie's Cakes & More was subsequently set up, and two Twitter users who saw the story began spreading the word about the cause.
Owner Natalie Dubose expressed her dismay at the protesters' actions.
"I've invested everything in 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. A lot of us, this is our only means of income, our business," Dubose said to Fox2 News.
At the time of publication, Dubose's own GoFundMe account has raised $147,449 from 4,586 people, surpassing her initial goal of $20,000. Another GoFundMe account set up in support of Dubose raised more than $10,000 from 305 people in 1 day. Natalie's Cakes & More had its grand opening this summer.