With Corey Haim's family so strapped for cash that they have gone online to ask for fan donations and auction the actor's possessions, a celebrity memorabilia company has stepped to cover costs of his funeral.
Startifacts.com has offered $20,000 to the late star's family.
"We're giving [his mother, Judy Haim] $20,000 directly from our own bank account to be used however she sees fit," Jon Hill, a manager for Startifacts.com, tells E! News.
The Minnesota-based company's owner, Michael Kronick, befriended Haim in the early 2000s and purchased some personal items from him around that time.
Upon news of the teen idol's death and his family's financial woes, Hill said the company was contacted by many media outlets inquiring if Startifacts.com was going to put the Haim memorabilia on the block.
"The money was needed now," Hill says, and he and Kronick decided to do it.
Haim's personal site acknowledged Hill's benevolence.
"It appears that we may have now raised enough money to cover all expenses of Corey's funeral!," reads a new message. "Many thanks to Startifacts & all his caring fans & friends who sent in donations...The Haim family is very relieved to know that they will be able to lay Corey to rest at home in Canada."
Haim died last Wednesday at age 38 after collapsing at the apartment belonging to his mother. He is expected to be laid to rest sometime this week in his native Toronto.
Hill, meanwhile, hopes the Startifacts contribution is a just a start for fans to help the struggling family via the Corey Haim Memorial Fund at the actor's site.
"We want to keep the money coming in," says Hill, "and we want people to step up."
(Originally published March 13, 2010, at 6:32 p.m. PT)
Take a look back on the life of Corey Haim in our gallery.