Also read: LGBT, same-sex marriage, domestic-partner benefits, Michael Savage, GLSEN

Rockstar Energy Drink, whose CEO Russell Weiner is the son of controversial talk-show host Michael Savage, will donate more than $100,000 to several LGBT-related groups and will expand the company's LGBT corporate policies to be more inclusive, the company said yesterday.

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The company said the donations will be split among:

·         The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, $50,000

·         Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), $25,000

·         The Trevor Project, $25,000

·         The LGBT Bloggers Initiative, $12,500

Additionally, Rockstar has reaffirmed its corporate antidiscrimination and equal-opportunity employment policies, which include protections based on orientation and gender identity. The company will also include an LGBT component in its corporate-wide diversity training and will offer support to employees who might want to start an LGBT employee-resource group.

The company also reaffirmed its commitment to offering domestic-partner benefits to same-sex partners of employees. Under the policy, which the company says has been in place since 2000, employees in domestic partnerships receive the same benefits and coverage as heterosexual married couples and are afforded the same protections for sick leave, bereavement, leave for victims of domestic violence and sexually based violence, and family-military leave.

Eliza Byard, executive director of GLSEN, said Rockstar's efforts to expand support for LGBT employees and the local LGBT community are significant steps in the right direction.

"Rockstar seems sincere in its efforts to affirm the dignity of its LGBT employees and the greater LGBT community and in its recognition of the damage language can cause--damage that GLSEN confronts daily in its work in K-12 schools," Byard said. "We look forward to seeing continued evidence of this commitment in the weeks and months ahead, and to accepting their contribution next year so long as they continue upholding the principles they've publicly articulated."

The contributions, which will be dispersed in January, follow the company's efforts to not be associated with Savage, who has made public homophobic comments.

"Some have erroneously associated our company with offensive language directed at LGBT people, specifically statements coming from Michael Savage, who is not and has never been a shareholder or officer of Rockstar Energy Drink," Weiner said in a news release. "On behalf of our company and directors, including myself and CFO Janet Weiner [Savage's wife and Russell Weiner's mother], I would like to take this opportunity to disavow any offensive statements directed toward LGBT people, including statements from Michael Savage."

"Rockstar assures our customers and the general public that our brand will never be associated with any language that does not affirm the essential dignity of every person in our diverse national community," Weiner added.

The efforts to contribute to the LGBT organization were facilitated by social-change media site Change.org and LGBT news site The Bilerico Project. Change.org CEO Ben Rattray and gay-rights blogger Michael Jones led the discussions with Rockstar.

"Rockstar's show of support for LGBT rights and Russ Weiner's significant financial contribution demonstrate that the company is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen when it comes to equal rights for its employees and its customers," said Rattray.