LAYTON -- Fundraising for 4-year-old abuse victim Ethan Stacy continues, as funds are sought to pay for the boy's burial and help with his Virginia-based father's travel costs to attend the legal proceedings for those charged with his son's death.
Those organizing fundraising activities -- in keeping the public's trust -- are doing what they can to limit the number of hands collections pass through before being deposited in the Ethan Stacy Memorial Fund established at Wells Fargo Bank.
To alleviate concerns someone may have about giving to any one of the many fundraising activities, those wanting to help the Stacy family do have other options available, such as personally visiting the bank and making a deposit into the Stacy account, said Mark Chapman, spokesman for Wells Fargo Banks in Utah.
Chapman said he recommends donors personally come into any one of the bank's 130 locations in the state to make their donation.
"We definitely have an account open and people can come in and make a donation," said Chapman, who would not reveal how much has been deposited in the account because it is private.
"That information has to come from someone who can speak on behalf of the Stacy family," he said.
Davis County prosecutors have charged Ethan's mother, Stephanie Sloop, 27, and her new husband, Nathanael Sloop, 31, with first degree aggravated murder in Ethan's death.
Since news of the boy's death broke, the local community has rallied around his father, Joe Stacy, of Richlands, Va., establishing a memorial account in Ethan's name, and holding a series of events to raise funds.
Joe Stacy could not be reached for comment for this story.
The Sparetime Family Fun Center in Roy from 10 a.m. to midnight hosted a fundraising event for the Ethan Stacy family, said Andrea Bliss, event organizer.
Prior to the event, Bliss said she hoped the event, which included bowling, batting cages, miniature golf and pony rides, would raise a few thousand dollars.
"It is all going to the Stacy family," said Bliss, a Davis County resident.
"They (the Stacy family) need our help and I am willing to do whatever it takes to help them out," Bliss said. "Nobody deserves it more,"
The Roy event is not the first activity held to generate support and dollars for the Stacy family.
A Walk for Justice for Ethan Stacy on May 22 drew an estimated 700 people who walked 10 miles from the Layton apartment where Ethan Stacy lived with the Sloops, to the Davis County Jail where the Sloops are being held, said Anissa Martinez, co-organizer of the walk.
There was no registration fee for the walk, Martinez said. But some walkers, aware the account for Ethan had been established, stopped at the Wells Fargo Layton branch and made a $325 donation, she said.
"We're thankful that there was a Wells Fargo there," Martinez said. "That way money isn't changing hands."
Martinez said it is safer and alleviates questions or concerns if people make their donation directly to the bank.
Donors can also mail money orders to Wachovia Bank, (a Wells Fargo company) in care of the Ethan Stacy Memorial Trust, 201 Suffolk Ave. First Floor, Richlands, Va. 24641-2436.
Donors are advised not to send cash through the mail, Chapman said, and donations made to the fund are not considered tax deductible.
"There is sometimes a lot of confusion with people about that," he said.
Other fundraisers held in Ethan Stacy's name involved the Iceberg Drive-in in Syracuse on May 29. Iceberg collected about 1,000 stuffed animals and distributed them to area emergency response agencies to use to comfort traumatized children.
The Texas Roadhouse restaurant in South Ogden also held a June 1 fundraiser for the Stacy family, collecting $1,100.
"Bottom line, I have children," said John Christensen, managing partner in the restaurant, about why he hosted the event.
The restaurant donated 10 percent of its sales for the night to the Stacy account and restaurant patrons and staff also made donations, he said.
"It was the least we could do," Christensen said.
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