For many families and loved ones of the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, the tragedy is compounded by the lack of money to pay for funerals, medical expenses or, in at least one case, the transport of a body back home across several states.
Members of the public were responding to this need one day after Sunday's rampage – in which 49 people were gunned down – by going through the crowdfunding site GoFundMe.com to donate.
As of early Monday evening, more than $2.6 million had been raised through several personal campaigns, as well as one larger campaign organized by the crowdfunding site. One campaign was launched by the sister of Eddie Justice, whose story went viral after the publication of harrowing texts he sent to his mother in the moments before he was shot dead. Another campaign was launched by a mother who cannot afford to have her son's body shipped back home to New York.
The campaigns appear to be part of a larger effort to do something for the victims and the families on the part of the public.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced Monday the creation of the Florida Disaster Fund to raise money for organizations serving survivors and families. JetBlue airlines announced it would fly family members and domestic partners of victims to Orlando for free in available seats. And Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced via Twitter on Monday night the creation of a OneOrlando Fund to help victims' families. Dyer did not offer a website address but said members of the public may begin contributing Tuesday through the site. Dyer's Twitter handle is @orlandomayor.
Debbie Goetz set up the GoFundMe campaign for the family of victim Cory Connell because many in the College Park neighborhood in Orlando knew the 21-year-old shooting victim and wanted a way to release their grief, she said.
Goetz, publisher of the College Park Community Paper, said she and other staffers were in regular contact with the family through a gut-wrenching 24 hours in which they first learned of the shooting, then that their son had been taken to a hospital and, ultimately, that he died. Connell, known to many in the community through his job at a Publix grocery store and, before that, at CVS, was known for being genuine and kind, Goetz said.
"When we heard the news this morning, everyone was just pouring out, 'What can we do? What can we do?'" Goetz said. I thought, 'That's (GoFundMe) something we can simply do right now."
The campaign will go toward paying for out-of-town family members to come in for Connell's service as well as other expenses related to the funeral, Goetz said. The effort raised $2,345 beyond its $10,000 goal as of Monday evening.
Goetz added, "He had the most sincere smile. When you saw him at the grocery store, he would lock eyes with you, like really look you in the eye, and welcome you to Publix and ask what he could do for you," Goetz said. "He knew everyone's name. 'Hey, Miss Debs.' He was just so friendly and kind. A hard worker."
Doris Keeler, who taught Connell eighth-grade language arts when he was in middle school, said she was broken up to hear of the death of her engaging student but felt good to see that donations to the GoFundMe campaign poured in quickly.
"He would always ask, 'Hey, how are you?' " said Keeler, of Winter Park, Fla. "He was just such a pleasant young man."
A woman who identifies herself as Charity Smith and as the sister of one of the victims has set up a campaign to help pay for funeral and burial expenses for Justice. The campaign raised almost $3,000 of its $10,000 goal as of Monday evening for the family of the 30-year-old accountant.
On the page, Smith shares quotes from his mother, Mina Justice.
"My son was a very fun and loving person," the page quotes Mina Justice as saying. "He was a joy to be around and I considered him to be what I call a homebody. I woke up out of a deep sleep to a text message from my son saying, 'Mommy, I love you!' After messages were sent back and forth, I realized what was happening and I needed to do everything I possibly could to save my son! I will forever cherish the 30 years we had here together."
Justice's family members could not be reached via email.
Another campaign was launched by Brooklyn, N.Y., resident Gertrude Merced, who wrote on the GoFundMe site that she cannot afford to bring home the body of her son, Enrique Rios, who died in the massacre.
Rios, a 25-year-old social worker according to the NY Daily News, was in Orlando on vacation, Merced wrote.
"I come as a humble but devastated mother," Merced wrote on the campaign page. She was described by the News as a janitor from Williamsburg, N.Y.
"Please help me bring my son home," Merced wrote. "He is still in Orlando and I am asking for the public to be so kind and understand the pain a mother is going through. Anything will be appreciated. My family is torn apart and all I would like is to have my son with me so he can (have) the funeral he deserves. My son was a good kid."
As of Monday evening, the campaign had surpassed its $20,000 goal by $1,068.
Merced could not be reached via email.
A search of the word "Orlando" on the GoFundMe site will turn up many of the campaigns to help.
