The Dru Project,

in honor of Pulse victim Drew Leinonen, is ready for its official launch party and first scholarship award.

The night before mourners gather at Pulse nightclub to acknowledge the one-year mark of the shootings, friends of one of the 49 people killed there will celebrate his legacy with the launch of a new nonprofit organization and scholarship fund.

On Sunday in downtown Orlando, The Dru Project — in honor of Christopher Andrew “Drew” Leinonen — will hold its official launch party and award its first $1,000 “Spirit of Drew” scholarship.

“We are doing everything we can to honor Drew, and this is only the beginning,” said Brandon Wolf, the charity’s vice president and a co-founder of the project. Wolf was at Pulse the morning of the shooting but managed to escape. “I think it speaks to the power of Drew’s love — that his friends are compelled to do something to change the world on his behalf.”

Leinonen, 32, had been the only openly gay student in his Pinellas County high school in the early 2000s. He created one of Florida’s first gay-straight student alliance groups there before attending the University of Central Florida, where he earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology.

Sara Grossman, who met Leinonen her first week of classes at the university, is one of three UCF alumni running the organization. Their goal, she said, is to advocate on behalf of the LGBT community and promote unity and compassion. The group is developing curriculum for gaystraight student alliances in high schools across the state while raising money for scholarships for young people who “exemplify Drew’s spirit for inclusion and unity.”

Sunday’s event is also a fundraiser for future scholarships with a suggested donation of $49. The launch party runs from 6 p.m. to midnight, with the program from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at The Abbey, 100 S. Eola Dr. in Orlando. Purchase tickets online at thedruproject.org.