Elected Officials Team Up To Host 100 Opa-locka Students at Marlins Game for National ‘Wear Orange’ Gun Violence Awareness Day

The Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards is hosted by Telemundo anchor Nicole Suarez and features 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner and Miami Herald national columnist Leonard Pitts Jr.. The public is invited to watch the full interviews and view a list of all the award-winning local news stories at essermanknightawards.org.

In commemoration of National ‘Wear Orange’ Gun Violence Awareness Day, the City of Opa-locka Mayor Veronica J. Williams in partnership with
State Senator Shevrin Jones will host a night of baseball for 100 students from Robert B. Ingraham Elementary School in Opa-locka, FL, on tonight, Friday, June 3, 2022, at 4PM, in Loan Depot Park, 501 Marlins Way, Miami, FL, 33125.

Game tickets were donated by the Progressive Firefighters’ Association Charities Inc. In conjunction with Baseball Night, the Miami Marlins will be hosting “Baseball Light,” at which time they will be illuminating Loan Depot Park in orange to support the “Wear Orange” Day of Gun Violence Awareness Day movement.

The event will include a distinguished panel of officials, community leaders and stakeholders comprised of: City of Opa-locka Mayor, Veronica J. Williams, City of Opa-locka Chief of Police, Scott Israel, Miami-Dade County Chief of Community Services, Morris Copeland, Janeen Jones, Community Outreach Representative, Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and licensed mental health therapist, Dr. Delvena Thomas. The panel will discuss the importance of gun violence awareness and prevention, as well as the importance of “if you see something, say something” and not being afraid to walk away from uncomfortable situations where a friend, relative or neighbor may be playing with a gun.

“It is so important to have these conversations with kids at a very young age to open their eyes to potential dangers around them with regards to guns and gun violence at school, home or even the playground. We hope that information they hear at events like these can possibly save a life one day,” said Mayor Williams.

Following the panel discussion, the students will be invited to an activities area where they can participate in fun things like batting cages, etc., leading up to the Miami Marlins vs. San Francisco Giants game at 6:40PM.

For more information about the City of Opa-locka and their upcoming community events and initiatives, visit their website at www.opalockafl.gov.