An anti-gun march organized by five survivors of the recent Florida school shooting received some incredible news when $2 million in support was pledged by a few Hollywood heavyweights.
George and Amal Clooney pledged $500,000 in support of the March for our Lives on Tuesday morning.
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“Our family will be there on March 24 to stand side by side with this incredible generation of young people from all over the country, and in the name of our children Ella and Alexander, we’re donating $500,000 to help pay for this groundbreaking event,” Clooney announced in a statement. “Our children’s lives depend on it.”
Within hours, Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw, as well as Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg, also promised to match the Clooneys’ donation.
On Twitter, Winfrey said she was inspired by the organizers and compared their efforts to “Freedom Riders of the 60s who also said we’ve had ENOUGH and our voices will be heard.”
Other celebrities have voiced their support for the students’ efforts on Twitter, including Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Cher.
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Seventeen people were killed and another dozen were injured last week when a gunman opened fire at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
Survivors David Hogg, Alex Wind, Cameron Kasky, Jacqueline Coren and Emma Gonzalez announced plans for the march on Sunday.
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“At the end of the day, this isn’t a red and blue thing. This isn’t Democrats or Republicans. This is about everybody and how we are begging for our lives,” he added. “We need to make real change here and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
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Kasky established a GoFundMe account which has raised over $1.1 million in just one day.
“The funds will be spent on the incredibly difficult and expensive process that is organizing a march like this. We have people making more specific plans, but for now, know that this is for the march and everything left over will be going to the victims’ funds.”
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The March for our Lives has been planned for March 24.
The organizers have reportedly requested a permit to hold the March at the National Mall in Washington. Half-a-million people are expected to attend
While the main march is set for Washington, sister events are also being planned in more than a dozen cities across the U.S.
Another protest being organized is the National School Walkout. It is scheduled for April 20, the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine school shooting in Colorado.
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