NFL and Buffalo Bills putting up $400K in wake of Buffalo supermarket mass shooting murders

(Payton Gendron, Image credit: Erie County DA)

On May 14, 2022, a mass shooting occurred in Buffalo, New York, at a Tops Friendly Markets store, a supermarket in the Kingsley neighborhood on the eastern side of the city. Ten people were killed, and three others were injured; 11 of the victims were black. The shooter, who is white, livestreamed the attack on the social media platform Twitch.

The shooter, 18-year-old Payton Gendron, wearing military fatigues, body armor and a tactical helmet, walked into that supermarket around 2:30 p.m. and started shooting.

On May 18, the Buffalo Bills Foundation and NFL Foundation announced that they’re taking initial steps to help the Buffalo’s East Side community heal in the wake of Saturday’s targeted attack against the Black community.

The foundations are combining to donate $400,000 to support the community in the wake of this horrific hate crime.

A combined $200,0000 will go to the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund. This new fund is a collaborative philanthropic effort across the region that will address the immediate and long-term needs in our community, including systemic issues that have marginalized communities of color.

“On behalf of the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund, we are most grateful for the generous contributions from the Buffalo Bills Foundation and the National Football League Foundation that will allow us to create real change and emerge from the darkness of this heinous act,” said Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.

The other $200,000 will be donated directly from the Buffalo Bills Foundation to various nonprofits working on the emergency response efforts to address the immediate needs of Buffalo’s East Side residents. As an example of one of these efforts, we have partnered with Buffalo Go Green, African Heritage Food Co-op, the Resource Council of WNY, and UB Food Lab to arrange home food deliveries to those unable to come to a food distribution site.

The Buffalo Bills said that this is just the beginning of their efforts and that they will remain committed to doing more for the community as the days and weeks go by.

Find more ways to get involved and provide support to those in need in the Buffalo community

(Source: NFL) / (Cover Photo: Image credit: Today / YouTube)