Eric Rollings (pictured) and an anonymous friend made a $12,000 donation to fund Orange County’s Gay Straight Alliances for a full year. (Photo from Rollings’ Facebook)
ORLANDO | When Boone High School received threats, backlash and opposition from local government due to a Gay Straight Alliance drag queen event, Eric Rollings knew he wanted to do something to support them.
Now nearly a year later, he has donated $12,000, with the help of an anonymous friend, to fund all Orange County high school GSA clubs for a full year.
“With the generosity of a very caring individual and myself, we just wanted to make sure that we guarantee that they’re funded, that the kids can have safe places to go,” Rollings says. “It is so important.”
This is not the first major contribution Rollings and his friend have made towards LGBTQ+ support. Rollings says that over the last few years he has made multiple donations to different LGBTQ+ organizations in the state.
“I’m committed to giving back to the community, especially on the local level,” Rollings says. “There are so many things that are local that I really want to protect, that are really great programs.”
Following the cancelled “Drag and Donuts” GSA event last year and threats made to the Boone High School principal as a result, Rollings says he was very discouraged and ashamed of the state of LGBTQ+ support in Florida.
In the time since then, his concerns have grown as he watches the increase in anti-LGBTQ+ policies being proposed in Florida.
“There’s just this constant onslaught and lack of LGBTQ support, or actually reversing things that are already in place,” Rollings says. “Florida is so fucked up.”
This is why Rollings decided now was the time to reach out to a generous friend of his and pull together the money needed to ensure a safe and supportive environment was available to high school students across Orange County.
“At the high school I went to, I wish we would have had a GSA because it was rough,” Rollings adds. “When I was growing up, there was nobody who even talked about it.”
Debi Pedraza, executive director of the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools, says that Rollings’ donation will help guarantee that necessary support at all 24 Orange County high schools.
“Charitable contributions like this are able to fund activities and expenses that can’t be covered through taxpayer dollars,” Pedraza says. “For a lot of kids, school is their safe place and with clubs like these they give kids a sense of belonging and acceptance … that’s important for all kids.”
Pedraza adds that while stipends are still provided to club sponsors, all clubs are required to fundraise or find outside funding for specific events and activities.
Things like food, awards, T-shirts and activities that make the club able to be a real club are all funded through donations or fundraisers, says Pedraza. With the help of Rollings’ donations, the GSA clubs will be able to invite guest speakers and organizations, host movie nights, lead wellness activities and talks, host LGBTQ+-themed events and celebrations and much more.
GSA clubs can also help queer students find resources and outside support in their communities. Through these events GSA clubs can connect students with local groups such as Zebra Youth, Orlando Youth Alliance and Equality Florida to offer resources and give students a chance to get involved in their communities.
Rollings says these activities are exactly what queer kids need most, especially today, given the political climate surrounding LGBTQ+ people.
“All it does is create more bullying, more hatred, more crime against people, more gay bashing and it pushes people back into the closet,” says Rollings. “With the GSA, it is one of the best ways that we can recognize bullying in the school or prevent suicide, or you can have someplace that’s safe where you can talk to people.”
