On Tuesday, May 13, Eric McHugh, chef de cuisine at Tampa's Refinery, created a GoFundMe for Jason VanderVossen, the restaurant's sous chef, after learning that VanderVossen was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
McHugh called VanderVossen, who's worked with McHugh in the industry for several years, a close, personal friend on the online campaign's page. McHugh said he made a GoFundMe for VanderVossen because he's without health insurance and will be hospitalized for a while.
The page is accepting donations, of any amount, in order to remove financial burden off VanderVossen's family.
Around 12:30 p.m. Friday, the campaign raised $9,082. Its goal is $50,000.