The City of Greensboro is hosting its second annual “Violence Awareness Day” on Friday, June 7. The event is being held in conjunction with National Gun Violence Awareness Day.  On that day, cities and towns across the country will host similar events.

Nationally, the event falls on the first Friday of June every year.

It’s followed by Wear Orange Weekend – a weekend when people are asked to wear orange to show their support for reducing gun violence across the country.

The day originally began on June 2, 2015, which would have been the 18th birthday of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old shot and killed in 2013 while on a playground in Chicago. One week before being shot, she had performed at President Barack Obama’s second presidential inauguration.

In Greensboro this year, the free event runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Barber Park Amphitheater at 1500 Barber Road.

According to event organizers, the afternoon is designed to highlight work being done through the City of Greensboro’s Office of Community Safety’s “GSO Peace on Purpose Violence Prevention Initiative.”

The Peace on Purpose program partners with other groups in the area that are intent on pursuing a common goal – “remaining ‘on purpose’ in pursuit of reducing violence in Greensboro.”

Greensboro and Guilford County have had a truly disturbing number of shootings in recent years.

On Violence Awareness Day in Greensboro, organizations will be onsite to provide information regarding their services, and local leaders will speak on the prevention of violence.

The day won’t all be somber, however; it will include food, games, music, entertainment, community art projects and more.

The City’s Office of Community Safety is sponsoring the event along with the Greensboro Police Department, the Parks and Recreation Department and Creative Greensboro.

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