The Sunshine Coast LGBTI community last weekend raised $400 for the victims of the Orlando shooting.
The Sunshine Coast’s monthly LGBTI club night Pinky’s, hosted by local drag star Melony Brests at the Waterfront Hotel in Maroochydore, was held last Saturday night.
Normally the entry to the event is a gold coin donation to support the annual Sunshine Coast Pride Festival but on Saturday all door and raffle money was donated to support the Orlando victims and their families.
Melony Brests was joined onstage by Queensland drag queens Wanda D’Parke and Holly Wood as “the PowderPuff girls” to entertain the crowd.
Fiona Anderson from the Sunshine Coast Rainbow Network said hostess Melony and Sunshine Coast Pride made the decision to donate all the proceeds to the globally successful GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign for the Orlando victims of the June 12 shooting at Pulse Nightclub.
“Even though it was the beginning of school holidays and a very cold night, we still had a small crowd at Pinky’s, our local venue,” Fiona said.
“Everyone showed such generosity and empathy for our fellow community members in the United States.”
Local organisation Equality Florida set up the campaign in the days following the tragedy and so far it’s raised $6.3 million, with donations still coming in.
The organisation is working with the National Center for Victims of Crime to distribute the money to victims’s families, survivors, and those in the club who may not have suffered physical injury but still in need of support and care.
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