CNN reveals how those few Parkland students pulled off the #MarchForOurLives in just five weeks

Brett T. | 6:19 PM on March 27, 2018

As you surely know, last Saturday marked the #MarchForOurLives in Washington, D.C. and in cities across the nation, and attendance figures ranged from 800,000 (the number claimed by Shareblue Media) to only 202,796, the number decided on by a Virginia-based firm that calculates crowd size using aerial photos.

Still, the event was a big deal, and CNN has a piece out this week explaining just how a handful of high school students from Florida managed to pull off such a massive event in just five weeks. The shocking secret: they had a lot of help, not the least of which was $2 million in private donations from George and Amal Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, and Jeffrey Katzenberg to grease the gears.

Or — as CNN puts it — “They welcomed support.”

How the Parkland students pulled off a massive national protest in only 5 weeks https://t.co/lmACzB1I6j pic.twitter.com/W3dr1YL2LN

— CNN (@CNN) March 27, 2018

CNN reports:

Giffords, the gun safety advocacy group named for congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a mass shooting survivor, provided transportation to Washington for some Stoneman Douglas families with the help of New England Patriots CEO Robert Kraft, who provided the team’s jet to help families get to Washington.

…

Everytown for Gun Safety supplied operational and logistical resources for marches in Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Milwaukee and New Orleans, the group said Sunday. Additionally, the organization said it gave out $5,000 grants to more than 200 local organizers across the country to ensure they had operational resources. The group helped to support transportation for students from cities including Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, New York City, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to travel to the march in D.C.

Ben and Jerry’s also chipped in with grants to fund bus transportation to the march.

For entertainment, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Common, Demi Lovato and Vic Mensa committed to performing.