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UnitedHealth to donate $10 million in George Floyd's memory

UnitedHealth is also creating a fund to support the college education of George Floyd's children.

MINNEAPOLIS — UnitedHealth Group announced Monday that it has committed more than $10 million in George Floyd's memory to help support rebuilding efforts in communities impacted by recent riots and looting. 

As part of the company's Diverse Scholars Initiative, a trust fund has also been set up to pay for the college education of Floyd's children.  

UnitedHealth Group said it is donating $5 million and funding up to 25,000 employee volunteer hours to help businesses in the Twin Cities that were impacted by several days of unrest following Floyd's death. 

“George Floyd’s death is an unspeakable tragedy. Communities all across America are struggling to make sense of what’s happened and how we as a society pull together to move forward, heal, learn and grow,” said David S. Wichmann, chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group. 

And while "recognizing the need to address the larger societal issues at the root of George Floyd’s death," the health care company said it would also be donating $5 million to the YMCA Equity Innovation Center of Excellence in memory of Floyd. 

“We all have a lot of work ahead of us to address long-standing inequities, and it’s going to take individuals, governments and private enterprises like UnitedHealth Group to achieve our goals of a more inclusive society,” said Glen Gunderson, president and chief executive officer of YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities. “We’re grateful for this contribution, which will help us accelerate our efforts to drive positive change in our communities.” 

RELATED: Outpouring of donations after looting, fires

RELATED: More than $2 million raised to rebuild Lake Street

Following the riots and protests throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul, organizations and churches have been coming together to coordinate cleanup efforts and collect food and supplies for the community. As of Monday evening, nearly $3 million has been raised to rebuild Lake Street in south Minneapolis following damages during protests, looting and fires. 

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