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Montana bars raise nearly 8 times goal for Anaconda shooting victims’ families

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BILLINGS— Montana bars, businesses and individuals have raised $125,000 for the Anaconda shooting victims’ families.

Their original goal was $16,000.

Watch to see how the fundraiser exceeded expectations:

Montana bars surpass fundraising goal for Anaconda shooting victims’ families

“The GoFundMe, we had it set at $16,000. And then I thought maybe we could raise $40,000, but to transcend our goal is absolutely incredible,” said High Tide Casino and Bar owner Rachel Dehler.

Donors contributed through the GoFundMe and a separate bank account. The total of the bank account is still growing.

Related: Billings bar successfully raises funds for Anaconda shooting victims' families

“Right now, we are at $125,000, and there's still a handful of bars that need to come forward,” said Dehler.

Approximately 50 bars across Montana and one in Virginia contributed to the effort, and many donated bar sales proceeds from Aug. 16.

Dehler is waiting for the rest of the money, but she is already so grateful for the bar and community support.

“The community coming out to support us— I think that is something that's not talked about enough. Because you have to have the people to support these bars. And the outreach. We had people driving from Anaconda just to come here,” she said.

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High Tide Casino and Bar crowds on August 16

The owner of Reno Club in Billings, Schuyler Budde, said the turnout on Aug. 16 exceeded his expectations.

“I was thinking it'd be nice if we could raise enough money to pay for funeral costs and those sorts of things, but it grew big,” he said.

For Budde, the fundraiser represented more than money.

“We had a great turnout. One-hundred twenty-five thousand isn't gonna erase anything that happened, but I think that's gonna give them a chance to rebuild, help to grieve, make some hope,” Budde said.

The total is growing, so that victims’ families have not received the money yet.

The owner of the Owl Bar, David Gwerder, plans to distribute the money among the four families once donors turn in all proceeds.