In the last few months, subreddit r / wallstreetbets has gone viral for the fact that financial hedge funds have been beating financially and trying to shorten Gamestop shares. Now the community is giving back by donating to a gorilla conservation fund.
Gorillas are a central focal point of the movement, with the front page of r / wallstreet betting full of topics related to its adoption.
A thread, titled ‘This MFer is probably richer now than I am’ links to an adoption certificate drawn up to ‘Jim Cramer’s Tears’. Another is thought of as ‘Fuck Melvin Capital’ – a dig in the hedge fund that was in the middle of the Gamestop short circuit.
The vast majority of donations are apparently directed to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. The organization is the largest and longest-running group in the world that specifically focuses on Gorilla protection, habitat conservation as well as scientific research.
“It helps our staff and park management to develop the most effective conservation strategies as we learn more about gorilla life, ecology, health, genetics and more,” the website reads.
“The most effective conservation strategy is direct, continuous protection of wild animals. This is the basis of our work. ”
The fund points out that the adoptions are symbolic, with the “proceeds from adoption support[ing] our daily gorilla protection efforts in Rwanda and the nearby Democratic Republic of Congo. ”
The director of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund released a video over the weekend thanking r / wallstreetbets for the amount of adoptions gorilla has made on behalf of the group.
It is currently unclear how much money the adoptions raised, but we do know that US $ 77,000 (approximately $ 99,000) was raised in just one day. The contributions were so significant that the fund’s president and CEO, Dr TaraStoinski, released a video thanking Wallstreetbets.
‘I was just made aware that you have adopted gorillas through our website. I just wanted to thank you so much for this incredible support, ”Stoinski said in the video.
A message to WSB from the director of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund! from wall street beds
The fund also shouted Wallstreetbets on Twitter.
“Wow! We are overwhelmed by the support we see from @Official_WSB and people from all over the world! We have already raised $ 77,000 today! Thank you to everyone,” the fund said over the weekend.
I adopted this guy! ???????? pic.twitter.com/BOuSjrT4f8
– Jordan Rantucci (@JordanRantucci) 14 March 2021
Back in January, r / wallstreetbets came into the spotlight after causing an exponentially short pressure on Gamestop shares. This led to heavy profit losses for at least one hedge fund, Melvin Capital, as well as a class action lawsuit against Robinhood.
The brokerage app limited the number of ‘meme shares’ shares that could be purchased on the platform, leading to outrage from users and questions from regulators as well as politicians on both sides of the aisle in the US
While the Gamestop stock later declined, it has recovered over the past few weeks. At the time of writing, this is $ 264.50 per share.
If you would like to donate to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund you can do it here. You can also set up monthly contributions here.