Injured Parkland shooting survivors to receive $1.6M US
GoFundMe donations collected after school shooting to be allocated to more than 1,500 people
The families of the 17 victims killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting will each receive $400,000 US from a $10.5-million US fund. Eighteen of the injured survivors will receive $1.63 million.
The Broward Education Foundation and a steering committee for the victims announced Monday the breakdown of the funds that were raised through a GoFundMe campaign. Nearly 37,000 individuals and companies donated to the fund. The fund does not include the millions students have raised through March for Our Lives for advocacy efforts.
Nearly 450 students who were inside the building when the Feb. 14 shooting happened will receive $2,500 US each and 1,048 students who were on campus during the shooting but not in that building will receive $1,000 US each. Payments will begin on July 16, according to a statement from the foundation.
Nearly everyone who applied for financial support was granted it. There were 1,654 applications submitted and 1,517 were approved, according to the foundation.
The group says 100 per cent of the funds raised will go to victims and their families.
"These gifts are given without any restriction on their use. The families and recipients are in the best position to determine how these funds would be most beneficial to their healing," said Christina Fischer, Broward Education Foundation Board Chair.
You can't put a price tag on the incompetence that led to the murder of my daughter.- Andrew Pollack, father of slain student Meadow Pollack
Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed, says he's not taking any of the fund for himself but will give the money to her two brothers and her boyfriend.
"It will help my kids when they're starting out their lives and it will make their sister happy," said Pollack, who has separately raised more than $400,000 to build a playground in her honour.
Other family members who declined to go on record said they were grateful for the kind donations but saddened because it will not bring their children back.
"You can't put a price tag on the incompetence that led to the murder of my daughter ... It's really disheartening for me to know all these people that committed these acts and no accountability," said Pollack.