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Members of the popular Reddit group that caused GameStop’s huge rise in shares are using their newfound money for a good cause.
In a post posted on subreddit, WallStreetBets, over the weekend, a Reddit Pakistani_in_Murica user said they used the extra cash they made from GameStop investments (read more about this) to donate the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund To benefit internationally.
According to the organization’s website, they are helping to protect two endangered gorilla species in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda and Congo.
With a donation to the fund, anyone who wants to help with their efforts can adopt a gorilla. Pakistani_in_Murica said they had “adopted” a wild gorilla named Urungano, who was born in June 2017.
The donation announcement received an incredible amount of attention on the subreddit, earning more than 112,000 votes and hundreds of awards (which users have to buy with real money to spend) on Monday afternoon.
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But most importantly, the message seems to have inspired other WallStreetBets members to donate to the fund.
Tara Stoinski, the president and CEO of the fund, even sent a message on the subreddit to thank them for their donations.
“I was just made aware that you have adopted gorillas via our website,” Stoinski says in the video. “I wanted to say a big thank you for this incredible support … it will help our important mission.”
According to Newsweek, a spokesman for the organization said they had received more than $ 265,000 in donations over the weekend.
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On Monday, the Fossey Fund launched a series of tweets highlight the Reddit community and thank them for their fundraising efforts.
“It is safe to say that the #investor community on @reddit is not traditionally who we consider to be our fan base,” they wrote. “But they definitely surprised and overwhelmed us this weekend.”
“It turns out that gorillas are a big #investment! Gorillas live in the Congo Basin, the second largest rainforest in the world and a natural defense against #climate change,” they added. “If we save gorillas, we save the planet. How about #ROI?”