To help fund a national gun-control movement, a small group of South Florida students who survived the worst high school shooting in U.S. history set up a modest website Sunday and created a GoFundMe account to pursue an ambitious goal: raise $1 million.
They’ve received more than three times that amount. In four days.
In a sign of just how much momentum they have, the students who survived the Valentine’s Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland have amassed donations from more than 18,000 people backing the #NeverAgain movement and the March For Our Lives, an anti-gun violence protest they’re planning on the National Mall in Washington D.C. The money has poured in from all over the country, escalating to seven figures before the young organizers could even set up a foundation to fund.
By Tuesday, the pot was nearing $1.5 million. And then Hollywood celebrities Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and George Clooney committed a half-million dollars. Each.
With $3.5 million suddenly at their disposal, this core group of roughly 20 teenagers — still grieving the loss of 17 classmates and school mentors — has enough money to fund a a national march and a revolution. They’re now beginning to consider the long-game: a lasting movement to keep the pressure on pro-gun politicians and the National Rifle Association.
Read more with our news partner the Miami Herald.
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