Survivor runner-up pockets more money than winner
Survivor fans wept in unison on Monday night as ‘King of the Jungle’, Luke Toki, was voted off the show one episode before the finale.
The far and away fan-favourite returned to the reality competition after competing in 2017, with a clear mission in mind - to win the $500K prize money for his family.
That money was claimed on Tuesday night by Looking for Alibrandi actress Pia Miranda, but thanks to the efforts of one superfan, Luke has ended up taking home more.
Fan Dave Skow has spearheaded a staggering GoFundMe campaign that has already raised over $540k for the devoted dad in just two days - that averages out to over $10,000 raised every hour.
Family first
Luke is a dad to three kids, his two sons have special needs and sit on the autism spectrum, while his six-month-old daughter was born with Cystic Fibrosis.
The devoted dad juggles with caring for his kids with wife Mary, and his fly-in-fly-out work.
He intended to use the prize money to give his family a much-needed financial push, and looked set to smash that goal before falling victim to the tribal council and becoming the 21st contestant voted out this season.
Fans raise half a million
Shocked fans have since rallied around Luke with a jaw-dropping GoFundMe effort. Over 30 different funds were initially set up after his elimination, but one has taken the lead.
Mega-fan behind the fund
The primary page run by Dave Skow is raising money faster than we can report it, with Dave saying he was compelled to set the page up after finding himself ‘devastated’ at Luke’s elimination.
“I’m just a really big fan of Survivor and a really big fan of Luke’s,” Dave told Yahoo Lifestyle.
The Wagga Wagga fan explained he set up the page with the help of Luke’s wife Mary, who he says is completely ‘beside herself’ at the jaw-dropping effort from fans.
‘Not on God’s great earth’ did he expect the effort to raise a fraction of what it already has, but now he’s feeling confident that the end goal is in sight.
“I reckon we’re in with a chance of hitting the $500k,” he said on Tuesday - little did he know that by the following day, that goal would be surpassed.
Call to Action
“Let’s be honest... Luke Toki is the best Australian Survivor contestant, ever,” the fund’s description reads.
“With two young sons with autism and a baby girl with cystic fibrosis, $500k would be a life changing amount for the Toki’s... So let’s rally behind this Aussie legend and change this awesome young family’s life.”
As of 2:30pm on Tuesday, the fund had attracted over 5,000 individual donations, and hit $180,000 - by 7.30am Wednesday, that had sky-rocketed to $443,000 and nearly 13,000 donors.
Booted off
The Western Australian man left fans reeling after being voted out on Monday night’s episode, with actress Pia Miranda hammering the final nail in his coffin with a shock last-minute vote at tribal council.
Fans have flooded social media to mourn the loss of the man who Dave describes as ‘the greatest Australian player ever to grace our screens’.
In a rare move, those same fans have put their money where their mouths are and it looks like the Toki family might come out on top.
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