City of Winter Park will commemorate Pulse with blood drive and shopping event to benefit OneOrlando Fund

Is it just us, or has this been the longest month ever (and it has very little to do with that summer solstice thing). If you’re feeling the same — like everything has been just a little (or a lot) off-kilter in the world since June 12 — the city of Winter Park has announced that it will commemorate the Pulse attack with two things: blood and money.

On July 12, one month since the shooting, the city of Winter Park will host a blood drive and shopping event in Central Park and along Park Avenue, where a portion of participating Park Avenue merchants’ proceeds will go to benefit nonprofits that have been assisting in lifting up the LGBTQ, Hispanic and other communities around the city and surrounding areas, including the OneOrlando Fund and the Better Together Fund, which is sponsored by the Central Florida Foundation.

Barnie’s CoffeeKitchen spearheaded the event and will be collecting donations for the OneOrlando Fund that night at their Park Avenue location as well.

While you’re out there, enjoy live entertainment by the Orlando Big Band (dancing is great medicine, after all), and hear remarks by Winter Park Mayor Steve Leary, Florida State Sen. Geraldine F. Thompson (District 12), Florida House Rep. Mike Miller (District 47), Winter Park Police Chief Brett Railey and others.

There will also be a lighting of 49 globes above the Emily Fountain in Central Park in honor of the 49 friends we lost that night. 

This article appears in Jun 22-28, 2016.