Local Organizations Start Fundraiser for Amish Family Struck by Tragedy

The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County have launched a fundraising campaign to help a local Amish family that lost four members in two farming accidents this year.

The GoFundMe campaign has a goal of raising $20,000 for Esther Beiler and her six children. HVAB and CBICC have provided $5,000 in seed money through their joint Happy Valley Agventures initiative.

“Our local Amish culture is a unique and important part of the fabric of Centre County’s rich agricultural heritage,” HVAB President and CEO Fritz Smith said in a statement. “Our organizations’ goal in launching Happy Valley Agventures was to support our agricultural community by inviting people to enjoy what we grow, raise, produce and craft. We felt a GoFundMe campaign was an appropriate way to further lift up a farming family facing such a tremendous loss.”

Beiler’s 16-year-old son Jonathan died on March 29 after he became pinned between two steel wheels on a piece of equipment at the family’s farm on Lower Brush Valley Road in Potter Township .

Less than six months later, the family lost its father and two more sons. Andrew Beiler, 47, along with sons Nathan, 19, and Daniel, 14, died from asphyxiation due to silo gases after becoming trapped in the farm’s silo on Sept. 21.

All four deaths were ruled accidental.

HVAB and CBICC are encouraging community members to contribute to the GoFundMe campaign for the Beilers.

“This unimaginable tragedy has touched the entire community,” CBICC President and CEO Greg Scott said. “We value our Amish neighbors and wish to extend more than just our sympathies to Esther and her children in this difficult time of need.”

To contribute to the fundraising campaign, visit gofundme.com/f/for-the-beiler-family.