UUCR congregants are invited to join the Woburn Welcomes community on June 4th at 10:00 am for the Wear Orange Gun Violence Awareness Proclamation reading at City Hall, 10 Common Street in Woburn. Representative Ciccolo and Representative Haggerty will join us.
100+ Lives are taken from gun violence every day. Fifty-eight percent of American adults or someone they care for have experienced gun violence in their lifetime.
How did Wear Orange start?
On January 21, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton, a high school student from the south side of Chicago, marched in President Obama’s second inaugural parade. One week later, Hadiya was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago. Soon after this tragedy, Hadiya’s childhood friends decided to commemorate her life by wearing orange. It was her favorite color and it is a safety color for hunters. Wear Orange originated on June 2, 2015—what would have been Hadiya’s 18th birthday. Now, it is observed nationally on the first Friday in June and the following weekend each year.
How can you participate?
Encourage your mayor to declare June 4, 2021 as Gun Violence Awareness Day in your city or town by signing a proclamation.
Chalk your sidewalk, turn on your porch light Orange, place a homemade sign in your window, or anything else that lets your community know how you feel about the crisis of gun violence.
Add a frame to your Facebook profile. Download free coloring activities to make a sign for your window. https://tinyurl.com/7cxhuy56
Make a dedication: One of the most powerful parts of the campaign are the online dedications users post to share why they’re taking part. Examples include: “Today, I will #WearOrange…” “because gun violence in the era of COVID-19 is even more lethal.” “in honor of my beloved son, (xxx) .”
The Massachusetts chapter of Moms Demand Action and the Lena Park Youth Council are again partnering to bring you the voices of survivors, youth, politicians and activists! This year the Summer Jam will be centered on a community Art Festival launching Saturday, June 5th, 2021.
As part of a nationwide gun violence awareness effort taking place on Saturday, June 5th, our Massachusetts Wear Orange virtual celebration will offer artistic expression, empowering information, and civic voices with the goal of building connections and creating safer communities in Massachusetts. At noon, special content will be posted on social media channel: www.wearorangesummerjam.com