GoFundMe For Fallen Coachella Worker Triples Goal

https://www.gofundme.com/f/chris-giffen-family-fund – Chris Griffin

A fund for the family of Chris Griffin, the stagehand who died in a fall April 6 while working on a Coachella stage, has already raised more than $77,000, far exceeding the original goal of $25,000. The fund is still open for contributions. 

Started by production manager Bobby “Boomer” Thrasher, the GoFundMe benefits Griffin’s wife Samantha and twin 14-year-old daughters Tawnie and Danni. The fund will help the family with expenses and hopes to benefit his daughters’ college education.

“Anyone that has known him or blessed with his presence, whether working or socially, [knew] he was a steady , calming, understanding and loving and he always persevered,” Thrasher wrote on the page. “Working with Staging Companies (Edwin Shirley, Stageco (Belgium), Brown United, Kleege Industries and G2 Structures) most of his life, starting in the UK, Europe and the U.S., he was an unforgettable force to the industry,  he was an asset to everything he participated in.”

Griffin had been part of the Coachella team for 20 years and Coachella organizers, when announcing the accident, said all at the festival were grieving the loss.

“He was a hard-working and loving person that cared deeply about his team,” Goldenvoice wrote in a statement to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “As our lead rigger, he was responsible for the countless incredible shows that have been put on at the festival. We will miss him dearly.”

Griffin was reportedly not wearing a safety harness when he fell from a structure.