Community donates $20,000 to beekeepers after hives destroyed by - WSMV News 4

(Meredith) – Tori and Justin Engelhardt’s worst fears became a reality when they discovered vandals had broken into their bee farm and killed half a million bees.

According to the Sioux City Journal, the Sioux City couple, who own and operate “Wild Hill Honey,” discovered the destruction on Thursday morning when Justin went to check on the hives. All 50 of their beehives were destroyed, and his supply shed was completely ransacked.

Engelhardt told the Sioux City Journal their situation “looked really hopeless.”

But then, support came pouring in overnight. News of the vandalism spread and many people in the surrounding communities opened their hearts and wallets in support of the Engelhardts. But that doesn’t mean the situation has completely resolved itself.

"We are salvaging what we can," Justin Engelhardt told the Sioux City Journal. A GoFundMe account was started, and by 2:30 p.m. on Friday, the couple had raised nearly $14,000 from almost 400 donors on their main GoFundMe account. The total they need is $20,000. At the time of this article, the total is slightly more than $18,000.

In addition to their main GoFundMe page, similar accounts were created on behalf of the Engelhardt, bringing the total amount to $20,200. However, the loss of the hives was calculated to be between $50,000 and $60,000 and the hives were not covered by insurance.

The sheer volume of donations and support was certainly overwhelming for the couple.

"Holy smokes," Engelhardt said to the Sioux City Journal. "That is amazing. We are really, really grateful for all the support."

[Click Here To Donate To The Engelhardt's GoFundMe account].

Information for this article was provided by the Sioux City Journal and GoFundMe.

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