In the wake of the tragic mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket, many charities, sports teams and strangers have reached out to help the community. Comedian Dave Chappelle is using his fame to raise money for the victims and their families.
According to Deadline, Chappelle set up a last minute show at Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, telling guests “some of the victims’ families were in the audience and that he was donating all proceeds from the show to them.” The show came together in four days and like most of Chappelle’s surprise performances, sold out quickly.
“He said, and I’m paraphrasing, ‘I came here to Buffalo to recognize the victims and for these families,’” Kevin Sweeney, Shea’s director of marketing and communications, said.
On May 14, an 18-year-old white male wearing military gear walked into a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo and shot 11 Black and two white victims. Fueled by his white supremacist views, he livestreamed the racist attack where he specifically targeted Black people. With the store still closed and the Buffalo incident immediately followed by the Uvalde shooting, the community has struggled to recover.
Due to his repeated use of anti-transgender jokes, Dave has become a controversial figure in recent years, but no one has ever accused him of not being charitable. Thankfully, the Chappelle’s Show star isn’t the only one helping the neighborhood bounce back.
The Buffalo Bills stepped up to donate food to needy families, as well as help pay for funeral services. When the Bills’ Taiwan Jones found out one of the families was having trouble with funeral expenses, he rallied his teammates to help with the $15,000 bill. The team is also partnering with the NFL to donate $400,000 to the Black community affected by the tragedy. Per CBS Sports, the money will be divided between the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund and charities “supporting the ‘immediate needs’ of Buffalo’s East Side residents, including one that will deliver food to those who can’t make it to a food distribution site.”