Skip to footer

How to help victims of the Orlando shooting from near or far

For those who wish to help the survivors of the mass shooting that took place in a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday morning, here are a few resources. 

|
Chris O'Meara/AP
Johnathan Dalton breaks down as he places flowers on a makeshift memorial on Monday, in memory of two of his friends who were killed during a fatal shooting at the Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, a gunman entered Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., and opened fire, killing at least 50 people and wounding dozens more. 

In the hours following the tragedy, members of the Orlando community flooded the local blood donation center, eager to offer some kind of help.

For those farther afield who wish to help the victims and survivors of the massacre, there are a number of resources available. Here are just a few:

To donate funds for victims and families:

Equality Florida, the state's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization, has a GoFundMe page to support the victims of the shooting.

Another GoFundMe page was set up by a variety of local Central Florida LGBT organizations, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the shooting victims and their families. 

LGBT advocacy nonprofit Planting Peace has launched a CrowdRise campaign to help cover victims' medical costs and funeral costs. 

CrowdRise has also launched a general relief fund in an effort to help both the victims of the Orlando shooting and those working long-term to address issues of inequality and gun safety. 

To donate blood:

As of Sunday afternoon, OneBlood had reached capacity for blood donations. However, it is asking anyone interested in donating blood to make an appointment to donate in the near future, since more blood will be needed soon. You can make an appointment online or by calling 1-888-9Donate. 

To care for a pet affected by the shooting:

Several organizations in Orlando are arranging for the temporary or permanent care of the pets of shooting victims and community members who will be out of the house supporting family and friends. A full list of local organizations providing pet care can be found here. 

To support LGBT organizations: 

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Central Florida is offering counseling and support to the local queer community in the aftermath of the shooting. You can donate to the center's efforts online, or speak to a counselor by calling 1-407-228-1446.

The New York City Anti-Violence Project is a New York-based nonprofit working to address hate-violence in the LGBTQ community. It offer a 24/7 bilingual hotline. You can donate online, or reach the hotline by calling 212-714-1141.

Another national LGBTQ nonprofit, The Trevor Project, is offering crisis support via hotline. You can donate online, or reach the hotline by calling 866-488-7386. 

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to How to help victims of the Orlando shooting from near or far
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Guide-to-Giving/2016/0613/How-to-help-victims-of-the-Orlando-shooting-from-near-or-far
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe