Event raises money for teacher’s son

A fundraiser this weekend at the Orange County Marketplace raised $2,800 for the family of Candace Tift, the Eastbluff Elementary School teacher killed in a bicycling accident Aug. 24.

Fathers of students at the Newport Beach school and Orange County Marketplace staff raised the funds through sales from Bob’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream at the marketplace.

Marketplace President Jeff Teller worked with Eastbluff Dads in what he saw as a multi-community effort for one family.

“It’s amazing how supportive the local Newport Mesa community has been,” Teller said. “It’s always refreshing to see the community step up and help someone in need like this.”

Tift was hit by a vehicle while riding her bicycle on the sidewalk blocks from home on West Coast Highway in August. She is survived by her husband Wade Tift and 16-month-old-son Owen Tift.

Ice Cream sales raised $1,400 on Saturday and again on Sunday. All of the proceeds go toward a college fund for Owen.

Contributions to the Owen Tift Memorial Fund can be made by mailing donations to the Orange County Teachers Federal Credit Union, Attn: Owen Tift Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 11547, Santa Ana, CA 92711.

“I can only hope that something good can come out of something tragic like this, and I am glad to be a part of it,” Teller said.