The Citrix Orlando Victims Fund distributed $50,000 to Orlando nonprofits providing on-the-ground services for the victims of the Pulse Shooting, a hate crime that killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in the deadliest mass shooting by a single shooter and the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in United States history.
Citrix is a company cares and that does its best to stand up for what’s right. So, when tragedy struck Orlando last year – right in our own backyard – our company and its employees took action to help. I’m proud to say that last month, we were able to make good on that commitment.
Citrix employees – Citrites, as we call ourselves – donated and raised $49,110 for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting and on Thursday, Feb 23rd the Fort Lauderdale Citrix LGBT Alliance and the Citrix Corporate Citizenship Committee was honored to distribute those funds to the grantees of the Citrix Orlando Victims Fund.
Citrites who attended the event heard moving stories of how these nonprofit groups were providing much-needed support to those affected by the Pulse shooting. We learned that the majority of the victims were LGBTQ and from the Central Florida Latinx community. Some were undocumented. Over half were under 30 years of age, with the youngest victim being just 18 years old.
We met Marco Antonio Quiroga, Director of the Contigo Fund, and David Jobin, the CEO of Our Fund, who helped us make sure our money reached those groups providing vital services to the victims, their families, and the community. We were also introduced to three of the nonprofit groups that were the beneficiaries of the Citrix Orlando Victims Fund:
Hearing their stories moved all those that attended the event, especially seeing how the money we raised is providing critical services for the victims of the Pulse Shooting. For me, personally, it is a privilege to work for a company that takes Corporate Citizenship so seriously and has generosity, integrity, and respect for diversity in its DNA.
