The shooting that took place at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. on Sunday left many in need of medical care and emotional support. To that end, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer started OneOrlando, a fund allocated to the victims and their families, the local LGBT community, and other groups that need assistance in the wake of the incident.
The fund was created Monday night, and by Tuesday night, OneOrlando had already raised $1.75 million, according to Bay News 9. One million of those dollars came from the Walt Disney Company, it announced in a press release Tuesday. The second-biggest donation of $500,000 was from Darden Restaurants, and JetBlue and AT&T were also major contributors, with $100,000 each.
Several companies are setting up additional programs on top of their donations. AT&T is allowing its customers to donate to Orlando Health to help with the victims' medical needs by texting "Orlando" to a provided number.
Disney is matching employees' donations so that the fund gets double what's given. It's also letting friends and family of victims stay in Disney World for free and setting up blood donation centers on-site for employees who want to help the victims in the hospital.
“We are heartbroken by this tragedy and hope our commitment will help those in the community affected by this senseless act,” said Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, in the press release. “With 74,000 Cast Members who call Orlando home, we mourn the loss of the victims and offer our condolences to their families, friends and loved ones.”
One of the victims, Jerald Arthur Wright, had worked in various positions at Disney World before he was killed in the shooting.
Disney has shown support for the LGBT community before. It threatened to stop filming in Georgia if the state passed an anti-gay-rights bill that was under consideration earlier this year.
Disney did not immediately return Complex's request for comment.
