Thurman Thomas spearheads huge donation haul for victims of Buffalo shooting

Buffalo Bills Hall of Famers are coming to town this week to raise money

Buffalo Bills legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas is using his standing in the Western New York community to raise money to support those impacted by the racist mass shooting in the city of Buffalo over the weekend. A white supremacist opened fire in a supermarket, killing ten and injuring three more.

Thomas kicked off the donations to his Thurman Thomas Family Foundation with a $10,000 gift. Current Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson also donated $10,000, Kelly For Kids (HOFer Jim Kelly’s charity) also donated $10,000 and private companies joined in, too, with the Basil Family donating $35,000 and Gilbane and Turner Construction sending $10,000.

The big donations mentioned above and the smaller donations from everyday folks have topped more than $160,000 per Thomas’s wife, Patricia. At 42 North Brewing on Wednesday, a portion of all beer sales will go to the Foundation. They aren’t stopping there.

Fellow Hall of Famers Andre Reed and Bruce Smith will be in town later this week to join Thomas and Kelly to support the victims and their families.

“Those guys said right away, ‘We’ll be here this week because that’s our city. We love it and we want to be supportive,’” Thomas told the Associated Press. “They want to see what they can do and how they can help, because they were really a part of this community for a number of years and they want to continue to help.”

Details are scarce on what if any public events might be available with the group, but we’ll update the story when he hear more. In the meantime, use the link above to help the Thurmanator. If you’re looking for amounts to donate, Thurman wore $34 and he turned $56 on Monday.

The Buffalo Bills are amplifying the Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund. If you’d also like to donate there, here is a link.