Some of the largest organizing groups in the country are helping the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting survivors. Not even two weeks ago they only had one another and social media.

We’re gonna be in the air at 5:00, but everyone better be tweeting #MarchForOurLives!!!

Several large progressive organizations, donors, and a high-powered public relations firm are backing the March for Our Lives movement, which is quickly evolving from a student-run social media effort to end gun violence into one backed by some of the most influential activists in the country.

In the days after the shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people, the teenage survivors of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were impossible to ignore. They blanketed cable news coverage, built a massive following on social media, and began to organize a rally in the country's capital in support of gun reform.

Barely two weeks ago, the student survivors sat in a circle in the living room of one of their parents' homes, planning a trip to Tallahassee to meet with lawmakers and handling nitty-gritty matters like which media outlets to talk to. Since then, major players and organizations — including Everytown, Giffords, Move On, and Women’s March LA — told BuzzFeed News they are helping with logistics, strategy, and planning for next month’s March for Our Lives rally and beyond. Much of the specific resources the groups are providing to the Parkland students remains unclear — as is the full list of supporting organizations — but there are broad outlines. Giffords, an organization started by former US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords that fights gun violence, is working with Everytown and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America to plan the main march on Washington — as well as sister rallies across the country. With the event scheduled to happen in less than a month, a spokesperson for Giffords told BuzzFeed News the organization "will be lending support in any way the students need, especially helping to operationalize these marches from logistics to programming." "We applaud these students for demonstrating incredible leadership and demanding that our lawmakers do more to help protect Americans from gun violence," the spokesperson said.

🚨 Big news!! You can now see if there's a march in your area - and if not, create your own! Thanks to @everytown… https://t.co/0reJBPVODZ

Everytown for Gun Safety — bankrolled mostly by Michael Bloomberg — recently secured a $1 million donation from entrepreneur and philanthropist Eli Broad. MoveOn said it will encourage its millions of members to follow and promote the March for Our Lives movement on social media and attend the rally next month. The group said it had offered support in organizing logistics such as security and portable toilets, but it is unclear if the students have taken them up on their offer. A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood, which has not directly been in touch with the students, said it has been in contact and offered support to Giffords, which is spearheading the national coalition of groups working with March for Our Lives. The spokesperson also said the group is "teaching and hosting trainings” for young activists across the US “to keep momentum going so they don't get burned out." Democratic US Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Broward County resident for nearly 30 years, told BuzzFeed News she has been in touch with students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas since the day after the shooting, helping them connect to state legislators and plan their trip to Tallahassee last week.



Wasserman Schultz said that because this is the first time many of the students have interacted with legislators, she advised them on communication strategy. She also said she been in contact with Mark Kelly — Gabrielle Giffords' husband and one of the founders of the Giffords foundation. The students also traveled to DC this week — they posted selfies on Tuesday during their return flight — and met with a handful of Democratic leaders, including Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Bernie Sanders, US Rep. John Lewis, as well as Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Just two Jews talking about substantial change. #NeverAgain

The American Federation of Teachers, which helped bus students and parents to Tallahassee multiple times last week, are now assisting with the March for Our Lives rally. The federation’s president told BuzzFeed News that they are also helping support next month's march as well as helping to shape the vision and mission for the group once the rally is over. "There are a lot of people who know how to put on a march in Washington and we are here to help support the teens with that experience in terms of logistics and strategy but it's still early and they have some time to figure that out," AFT President Randi Weingarten told BuzzFeed News. "We will be here for that 'oh shit moment' when they realize they need things like permits." Weingarten said "this moment is different," and there will be a lot of work to do after next month's march. AFT, as well as the growing contingent of organizations backing the student-led march, are working to cultivate and build upon the movement after the rally. Weingarten noted that the groups are also behind the “National School Walkout” taking place in April to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Columbine. After that, she says the goal is to carry that momentum until November — with some of the students already using the hashtag #VoteThemOut. “We are also marching towards midterms,” she said, adding that the activists intend for gun control and student safety to be a major platform and key issue for voters in the midterm elections. "With their angst, anger, and authenticity, these students have pierced through the normal polarization of this debate," Weingarten said. "This moment is different."

Thank you to Speaker Ryan and every other lawmaker we spoke to. We spoke, you listened, but now it is time for acti… https://t.co/3hE7IGqtmQ