Businesses offer support for victims of Orlando shooting

It was one of Apple’s biggest events of the year, but it was overshadowed by a devastating shooting in Orlando gay nightclub Pulse over the weekend that left 49 people dead and dozens more injured.

To honour the victims, the tech giant’s CEO Tim Cook kicked off the company’s annual developer conference on Monday with a moment of silence.

During that brief moment of reflection, Cook, who is openly gay, shed a tear.

Apple wasn’t the only company to offer its support to the victims.

The Walt Disney Co., whose flagship theme park Walt Disney World is in Orlando, announced on Tuesday that it is donating US$1 million to a fund created to support the victims of the tragedy.

The One Orlando Fund went live on Tuesday, and it has also received a $500,000 donation from Darden Restaurants, which is headquartered in the city and counts Olive Garden and Red Lobster among its dinning offerings, and $100,000 from the Orlando Magic basketball team.

On Monday, American airline JetBlue announced that it would be providing free seats on its available flights to and from Orlando for the immediate family and domestic partners of victims.

“Like many of you, we continue to watch reports of the Orlando nightclub shooting with great sadness. Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones,” the company wrote on its blog.

“We want to do our part to help the victims of this tragedy, as well as support the Orlando community through this difficult time.”

JetBlue also donated $100,000 to the One Orlando Fund.

There was also a surprising show of support from the Atlanta-based fast-food restaurant chain, Chick-fil-A Inc.

According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, a number of the company’s locations in Orlando opened on Sunday to provide aid following the shooting at Pulse.

The chain’s locations rarely open on Sundays, because the company’s founder believe all employees should have time to rest, spend time with friends and family and worship, if they want to, on Sundays.

But the Atlanta Business Chronicle said some employees chose to go into work and prepare food for those who were waiting in line to donate blood to victims of the attack.

Chick-fil-A came under fire in 2012 after its CEO, Dan T. Cathy, made a string of inflammatory comments, including one where he said the company is supportive of the “biblical definition of the family unit.” He also tweeted that it was a “sad day for our nation” after a section of the country’s marriage act banning same-sex unions was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Smaller enterprises have also offered their support to the victims.

Christian West Howard, a 23-year-old real estate agent who frequented Pulse, came up with an idea while hosting a candlelight vigil in his apartment on Sunday night.

 “My Airbnbs, I can put those up,” Howard told the National Post.

Howard proceeded to write a post on Facebook saying that he had several rental properties where he could host victims families for no charge and he needed his friends to help spread the word.

The word spread and he realized he was going to need more rooms.

So, Howard reached out to the home-sharing service, which is working with him to offer more accommodations.

Other hotel chains have also offered up free rooms.

Howard has also ramped up his operations; he is now overseeing a team of volunteers in borrowed office space to help victims’ families figure how to get to Orlando, where they’re going to stay and arrange funerals.