Fundraiser for widow and children of James Van Der Beek surpasses $500,000 goal within hours

The Dawson’s Creek star, who died on Tuesday aged 48, had been open about struggling to meet the high expenses of his cancer treatment

A GoFundMe set up to support the widow and children of actor James Van Der Beek has passed its initial goal of $500,000 within hours of being created – and has now been updated to a goal of $1m.

Van Der Beek, best known for his role as sensitive teen Dawson Leery on the TV series Dawson’s Creek, died on Tuesday aged 48 after a battle with bowel cancer.

Van Der Beek is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and their six children, Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah. Shortly after announcing Van Der Beek’s death via a post on Instagram on Wednesday, Kimberly published a link to a GoFundMe to help with expenses relating to his extended medical treatment.

“My friends created this link to support me and my children during this time,” she wrote. “With gratitude and a broken heart.”