In the aftermath of the sinking of the Lily Jean, a local Gloucester organization has launched a fund to support the families of the ship’s seven crew members.

Captain Accursio “Gus” Sanfilippo, crewmembers Paul Beal Sr., Paul Beal Jr., John Rousanidis, Freeman Short, and Sean Therrien, and federal fisheries observer Jada Samitt were all aboard the Lily Jean when it sank off the coast of Cape Ann last Friday.

State Sen. Bruce Tarr said that members of the public have been reaching out, looking for ways to help those impacted by the accident. He and several other officials announced the creation of the Lily Jean Fund as a verified way to donate.

One hundred percent of the proceeds from the Lily Jean Fund, created by The Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund and hosted by Cape Ann Savings Bank, will go to the families impacted by the accident.

“In the wake of this tragedy, there has been an extraordinary outpouring of compassion,” Tarr said in a statement. “People want to help, and it is critically important that they have clear, trusted, and transparent ways to do so — both to support the families directly and to ensure that essential services are available to the community.”

Tarr also thanked the Fishing Partnership Support Services, another local organization aimed at supporting fishermen, who offered counseling, health care, food, and housing to the families of the crew members immediately following Friday’s accident.

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“These losses remind us of the risks fishermen face every time they leave port and of our responsibility to support the men and women who provide for our families, our economy, and our country,” Tarr said.

In addition to those two organizations, several verified campaigns have popped up on gofundme for the families of the crew.

So far, gofundme pages for Paul Beal Sr.’s wife and for the Beal family have raised about $30,000. “Gone too soon were a husband, grandfather, father, son, brother, uncle, cousin, and great friends to many in the community,” one of the organizers wrote.

A campaign for the Short family, which has raised about $50,000 of a $60,000 goal, noted, “This family has always given selflessly, even when it was hard. Now it’s our turn to give back.”

The gofundme the Rousanidis family said that John had grown up in Peabody in Greece. “He was a big dreamer,” his sister Keri wrote, “always trying to conquer the unknown.”

The page for Therrien’s family’s fundraiser noted that he left behind two children and a partner, as well as “the pride he took in providing for his family.”

In a 2019 photo in Danvers, Mass., Sean Therrien and his fiance, Becky Carp, are pictured. (Becky Carp via AP)
In an undated photo taken on the North Shore in Massachusetts, John Rousanidis is pictured. (Keri Rousanidis via AP)