An online fundraising campaign has already brought in more than $270,000 for the three sons of slain Unit 5 teacher Amy Moore — in less than three days.
Moore, 48, was fatally shot by her ex-husband, who then killed himself, last week at her Normal home, authorities said. That left their three sons — ages 12, 11 and 7 — parentless.
A GoFundMe fundraiser launched Friday on their behalf has raised $270,610 as of midday Sunday, from 2,300 donations, toward a goal that's already been increased to $400,000.
“That response is such a testament to Bloomington-Normal and the surrounding areas. It’s just really unbelievable. I don’t think you’d get this anywhere else,” said Tom Burns, Amy’s oldest brother and an organizer of the GoFundMe.
Those who’d rather give money in-person can donate to the Moore Boys Memorial Fund set up at Heartland Bank.
“Support the Moore Boys” is one of the biggest GoFundMe fundraisers that Bloomington-Normal has ever seen. Burns said he’s not surprised, in part of because of his family’s longstanding ties to the community. Their parents were teachers; Amy followed in their footsteps. Burns and the family have had dozens of visitors every day, including daily visits from the boys’ friends.
Moore was essentially a single mother at the end of her life, working full time, living paycheck to paycheck, Burns said. The GoFundMe idea emerged when Moore’s surviving family and friends realized her sons were left with no financial safety net — not just for day-to-day expenses, but for professional help later as they grapple more fully with what’s happened.
"Our hope is to build enough of a safety net financially so we can take care of these boys and make sure they continue to blossom."Tom Burns
“And I think when that hits the wall, it’s going to be whole other level of counseling and help we’re gonna need, which is a whole other expense. Our hope is to build enough of a safety net financially so we can take care of these boys and make sure they continue to blossom,” Burns said. “The job that Amy had done with these boys by herself — they’re the three sweetest, nicest, most beautiful boys. And now they’re parentless.”
It was a family tragedy, but more than that. Moore was a second-grade teacher at Grove Elementary School in Normal, touching thousands of lives throughout her career.
“What she had on her plate, I don’t think anybody comprehended,” Burns said. “But mother first and foremost, daughter, sister, niece, teacher, coach, mentor, and a friend. She did it all.”
WGLT reported previously about the lengthy divorce proceedings between Amy Moore and the man who police say killed her — Matthew Moore. Court records show documented instances of harassment online and in person by Matthew, leading to multiple emergency orders of protection. Those records show a woman trying to protect herself — over and over — while documenting Matthew’s erratic behavior.
WGLT asked Burns whether Amy Moore got the support she needed.
“Definitely not. There were many red flags, many phone calls, many trips to lawyers to try and address this," he said. "As you wrote in your prior article, there were multiple orders of protection, which on its face sounds great, but clearly doesn’t prevent somebody from doing something they want to do.
"I think for sure the entire system let her down. This is something that, with the number of incidents we’ve had over the years, they should’ve never been in the same room at the same time, ever. It should have been impossible for that to happen.”
