Bus monitor bullied by students gets over $703K from vacation fundraiser

GREECE, N.Y. (KABC) -- An online campaign to raise $5,000 for a bus monitor who was bullied by middle school students has collected over $700,000.

More than 30,000 people from all over the world contributed to the vacation fund for Karen Klein, which closed Friday night.

The man who started the fundraiser, Max Sidorov, had a goal of raising $5,000. But by the end of the campaign, a total of $703,873 was collected.

The 25-year-old Sidorov, who is from Canada, started the fundraiser because he said he was so moved by the 10-minute video of the incident, which was posted online and shows Klein enduring cursing, insults and threats.

"I think that people just love rallying around a great cause, especially helping someone in need or who has been abused or can't stand up for themselves," Sidorov said. "It just shows there are so many great people in the world. It warms my heart to see that."

His next move will be to launch a new drive with a goal of $7 million to combat bullying with counseling, a television series and a nonprofit social media website.

"Hopefully we can do a lot greater and bigger things stemming from what happened to Karen," he said. Sidorov said he keeps in touch with Klein almost every day.

Klein could not immediately be reached for comment.

The four middle school students involved in the bullying are suspended from school for a year and must go through a bullying prevention program.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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