Diners opened their wallets and dined out Thursday for the OneOrlando Fund and the victims of the Pulse attack.

  • Money raised will be donated to OneOrlando Fund
  • 1,500 restaurants from across the state participated
  • Also Thursday, Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen held a benefit show

More than 1,500 restaurants across Florida and around the country took part in Dine Out For Orlando United, donating portions of sales or tips to the One Orlando Fund for the families of the victims of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub on June 12.

Gov. Rick Scott visited a number of restaurants throughout the day and passed out the Governor’s Medal of Unity to restaurant-goers.

“It’s not just going on in Orlando, it’s going on all over the nation," Gov. Scott said. "We have restaurants all across the nation doing this and it’s all to support these victims. But what it shows is that people wanna help, they wanna be part of this, they wanna do something, they wanna unify this city, they want to make sure to take care of those that have been impacted and make sure everybody understands we love everybody in our state."

"When I mentioned to them that the Grand Bohemian was participating in the program, everybody was on board to come over," said Gennifer Bridges, who got together a group of friends from their law firm to grab a quick lunch downtown. "We want to participate and chip in any way we can."

The Boheme restaurant at The Grand Bohemian Hotel on South Orange Avenue is donating 10 percent of all lunch sales and $10 dollars of each dinner to the fund.

Restaurants as far away as Chicago joined in the effort.

"We're quite overwhelmed, but not surprised," said Carol Dover, president of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. "We have everything from 10 percent of proceeds today, all the way up to 100 percent. The heart and soul of our industry is all about pulling together, standing united and particularly in times of need."

Meanwhile, at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, a benefit show featuring Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen captured a sold out crowd.

All of the proceeds went to the OneOrlando Fund.

The event was advertised as an unscripted night of conversation with the audience about world events.

The City of Orlando announced that the OneOrlando Fund will partner with Equality Florida, the GLBT Center and the National Compassion Fund to pool all of their resources to ensure that all funds collected for the victims and family members are disbursed in a unified process.

So far, more than $17 million has been raised.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said he’s proud to see so much support come from so many different walks of life, like the service industry.

“Pulse is actually a member of the Florida Restaurant Association so I think it’s pretty cool that their industry group is supporting the victims of the pulse shooting," Dyer said.

Dyer added that the hard part for the OneOrlando Fund will be determining who will receive funds and how much will be given.

He said he does not know when the fund will be closed, but as soon as it is, the payouts will begin.

Go here for a full list of participating restuarants.