By Local Talk Staff
On July 4th, the Enough Is Enough Coalition, Ivy Hill Little League, Local Talk, and UVSO held its 8th Annual Stop the Violence Softball Game in Ivy Hill Park.
The game was an overwhelming success this year, as in years past the two team playing was Stop the Killing vs. Stop the Violence. Stop the Violence won 16 to 5.
This year, several Newark Police Department officers from the 6th Precinct joined in the event, along with their Captain Douglas. It was a great day to play the game, as the weather was nice, and there was even a cookout after the game for the players, families and community members who have lost a loved on to guns and violence.
The Stop the Violence game has been organized by Minister Ellis, President/Founder of the Enough Is Enough Coalition as a way to get the message out about “Stop the Killing, Stop the Violence,” and no matter which team wins, the message is clear.
Over the past few months, and since the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic, crime and violence, shootings and murders have risen in many cities, with Newark being one of them. Just in the past few weeks, Newark has seen several murders with numerous shootings. So, there is a great need to spread the message, because the violence and murders are hurting families, businesses, and communities in a big way.
It has always been said that one of the solutions to guns and violence is people acting, people getting involved, people joining in together to make their community safer, and that’s what the Stop the Violence Softball game does. It brings people together for one common cause, and that’s prevention, education, and raising the level of awareness of the dangers of guns and violence. That’s what Enough Is Enough Coalition has been about and doing since it was founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1993.
Supporting the efforts this year were Ivy Hill Little League, Local Talk Newspaper, UVSO, IYO, Ivy Hill Neighborhood Association, NPD 6th Precinct, Ivy Hill Apartments, City Supermarket, and Ivy Hill Liquors. Each one of these businesses or organizations donated food for the cookout, refreshments, ice, or whatever was needed to make the softball game an overwhelming success.
The NPD officers and players had so much fun that they are setting up another Stop the Violence vs. Stop the Killing softball game soon.
