Just to switch things up, what say we actually start the weekend with some good news for a change? And this is very good news indeed. Ever since the assassination of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu by a vicious, anti-cop fanatic, their families have felt the outpouring of love, gratitude and shared sorrow from the nation. But while the public has already offered generous help and the police are sure to look out for them, it’s still rough to take care of your family when you lose the primary breadwinner. But the two grieving families will have significantly less to worry about now, after an anonymous donor from Hong Kong kicked in a million dollars to make sure they can get by.

An anonymous donor from Hong Kong has given $1 million to the families of the two NYPD officers shot dead last month.

[…]

Liu’s father Wei Tang Liu will receive $100,000 a year for five years. Ramos’ two sons will have $500,000 put into their educational fund…

Weeping at the ceremony in Manhattan, Wei Tang Liu said in Cantonese that he is very grateful, the New York Daily News reported.

Ramos’ widow held her sons’ hands tightly before they gathered with Liu’s family to hold the check.

Obviously no amount of money will fill the void left by the loss of their fine men, but this sort of action speaks well of the rest of humanity. (A subject on which I’ve become far too cynical in the past year.) The anonymous nature of the gift is also telling, since true charity is never offered for the aggrandizement of the giver. This situation was mirrored in part by the earlier donation of more than $800,000 from the Tunnel to Towers Foundation which will pay off the mortgages of both officer’s homes and do required renovations so the families can stay there permanently. That money was raised primarily from legions of small, individual donations, but the largest one there was in the amount of $50,000, also from an anonymous New York donor.

That same donation drive brought in another surprising bit of generosity.

Charity officials said they were particularly struck by a gift from two Wisconsin girls — Gretchen Lysne, 9, and her sister Victoria, 7 — who decided to donate the $25 they received in Christmas money after overhearing their parents talk about the slain officers.

“We were honestly speechless,” said the girls’ mother, Rachel Lysne, of West Salem. “We just said, ‘What you’re doing is very appreciated.'”

The rest of Liu and Ramos’ fellow officers are still doing their part as well. In fact, there will be a charitable event tonight on Staten Island where guests will donate $40 each for an evening of beer, New York style hot dogs and live music with the proceeds going to the families. Should you wish to contribute to that effort, you can get in under the wire.

Rocco Laurie Lodge 22 of the Fraternal Order of Police organized the event.

You can also donate to the benefit. Checks can be made out to Rocco Laurie Lodge 22 (indicate the check is for “Liu and Ramos Benefit”) and mailed to Rocco Laurie Lodge 22, PO Box 61188, Staten Island, NY 10306.

All of this is heartening and speaks to what is best about America. While the murderous monster responsible for the loss of these officers is consigned, unmourned, to the dustbin of history, the nation joins together in support of the good guys. And those deviants out in the streets who openly show support for cop killers should be made increasingly aware of how thoroughly they are rejected by civil society.