'The Block Gives Back': Philly natives aim to bring peace to parks with the power of play
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- They hung out at 'The Block' as children. And now, these Philly natives are all grown up and ready to give back.
"Me and my buddies, we wanted to do something for our city, do something for the community," said Tom Roush. "And that led to us feeding fruits and pizza to the less fortunate downtown."
Roush and his friends were able to raise over $1,200 in their initial outreach effort. This eventually led to the creation of a nonprofit called, "The Block Gives Back."
"We're also doing non-violence events, back-to-school events, park cleaning, street cleaning," said Roush, the organization's president.
And today, The Block Gives Back joined forces with Citywide Community Counseling Services, and the LOT Crew for the 7th Annual Peace and Play Day. Taking place at Tarken Recreation Center in Northeast Philadelphia, the event featured dodgeball, bounce houses, a basketball tournament, and more.
Juan Adames, co-founder of the LOT Crew (Leaders of Tomorrow), said the Stop the Violence Basketball Tournament is particularly important to him.
"I've lost a lot of friends to gun violence, and it just hits home," he said. "Every day, you see a young soul being taken in the streets and the community and stuff like that, so we want to make sure we can mitigate that as much as possible."
To learn more about The Block Gives Back, Citywide Community Counseling Services, and the LOT Crew, visit their respective websites.
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