Campaign Raises More Than $12,000 for Attacked Aviary Employee

By Anthony Todd in Food on Jul 8, 2016 4:05PM

Eric Jeffus, the victim of the attack. Photo via the GoFundMe page.

Sometimes, on the heels of something awful comes something that give you a tiny bit of faith in people. This past Tuesday night, a server at The Aviary named Eric Jeffus was attacked outside the Fulton Market, restaurant and suffered a fractured skull. Members of his community have come together and in less than a day, raised a ton of money to help with his recovery.

The incident was described poignantly on social media by Aviary owner Nick Kokonas.

On Tuesday night, behind the Aviary late at night, one of our employees, Eric Jeffus, was mugged at gunpoint and subsequently violently hit in the head hard enough that he needed surgery. As an employer, business owner, co-worker and friend this is a heartbreaking thing to happen. We start businesses hoping to enrich the lives of our customers -- but first and foremost we create jobs, a culture and a community amongst the people we hire, train, and work with every day. This is our team and our work family.

After the attack, a GoFundMe campaign was started to help Jeffus, with a goal of $1000. In a single day, it has raised more than $12,000.

Jeffus thanked his supporters on his own Facebook page.

Today I can finally see, all in one place, how much I mean to the people in my life, and it's frankly overwhelming. I don't think it's possible for me to fully express my gratitude, and all of you know that it's not an easy thing to find me at a loss for words about anything. Thank you. Thank you so much. I love you. I love you all. I leave you with my battle cry: "He broke my skull, but not my spirit."

Excuse us, we must have something in our eye.