Two days after a gunman opened fire on Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, killing 50 people and wounding dozens more, the Walt Disney Company has announced that it will donate $1 million to aid survivors of the attack. The company is contributing the money via the OneOrlando Fund, recently established by mayor Buddy Dyer as an alternative to the numerous online donation funds that have appeared in the wake of the attack.
According to the OneOrlando web site, “The purpose of the Fund is to provide a way to help respond to the needs of our community, now and in the time to come, after the effects of the Pulse tragedy.” Money donated to the fund will go toward non-profits that are supporting the survivors of the attack and the families of victims, as well as to support “the LGBTQ, Hispanic, faith, and other affected communities.”
Disney’s relationship with the Orlando area stretches back to the 1960s, when Walt Disney selected the area as the site for his second major theme park. 74,000 Disney employees work in the city, and the company has pledged to match donations to the OneOrlando fund by its employees on a dollar-for-dollar basis.