September 6th 2023.
Dollar General announced that it will be donating $2.5 million to aid in the relief efforts for the Jacksonville, Florida community after the tragic shooting incident on August 26th. In a racially motivated attack, a 21-year-old white gunman named Ryan Christopher Palmetter killed three people at one of the store's locations. Dollar General is committed to helping the community heal, and plans to donate $500,000 to the First Coast Relief Fund, as well as $1 million to its Employee Assistance Foundation to provide employees with assistance in their time of need.
Dollar General CEO Jeff Owen wrote in a press release, “The entire DG family continues to mourn the senseless, hate-driven loss of life that took place last weekend. Our focus continues to be on supporting the victims’ families, our employees, and their loved ones, alongside how we can best support and stand with the greater Jacksonville community. The actions we are taking are in an effort to begin to heal together.”
In addition to the donations, Dollar General is also completely remodeling the Jacksonville store in late September or early October, and donating $50,000 to local food banks to help with food insecurity.
Not all condolences for the community were well received. At a prayer vigil on August 27th, Governor Ron DeSantis was met with boos in response to his offer of condolences to the victims' families. Black community leaders have criticized DeSantis for promoting policies that negatively affect the Black and LGBTQ+ communities in Florida.
In Orlando, there were reports of Neo-Nazis marching and shouting slurs. The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism had warned about the march prior to it taking place. Former Florida House of Representatives member Anna V. Eskamani shared a video of the march on social media, depicting the hate group shouting, “We are everywhere” before yelling “Heil Hitler” while they performed a Nazi salute.
The Jacksonville community continues to grieve the loss of life, while Dollar General and other organizations do their best to support the community and bring healing. The company has pledged to keep the public informed of its future commitments to the Jacksonville community as needed.
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