ON NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS DAY, “WEAR ORANGE” CAMPAIGN REACHES FLORIDA

“Wear Orange” Inspired by Chicago Teens Who Refused to Be Silent in the Face of Daily Gun Violence

JACKSONVILLE—On June 2, National Gun Violence Awareness Day, more than 300 influencers, corporations, mayors, partner organizations and a series of more than 75 iconic landmarks across the country will participate in the Wear Orange Campaign (www.WearOrange.org). Wear Orange campaign elements in Florida noted below.

• Skylines and key buildings nationwide will begin turning orange on June 1 – the start of Gun Violence Awareness Month – including the Empire State Building. Key landmarks in Florida turning orange include 110 Tower in Ft. Lauderdale, Bank of America Plaza at Las Olas City Centre in Ft. Lauderdale, Amway Center Spire, Orlando, Lake Eola Fountain and all 8 See Art Sculptures in Orlando, ORLANDO Sign at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Tower of Light in Orlando and The Miami Tower in Miami. A full list of landmarks turning orange can be found here.

• Florida mayors including Mayor Gilbert (Miami Gardens), Mayor Rick Kriseman (St. Petersburg), Mayor Ortis (Pembroke Pines), Diane Veltri Bendekovic (Plantation) and Mayor Tomás Pedro Regalado (Miami) joined the more than 100 mayors nationwide participating in the Wear Orange campaign this year. A full list of mayors can be found here.

• Events to celebrate National Gun Violence Awareness day, coined Orange meet-ups, will be happening all over the country. These events will bring people together to showcase the full creativity of Orange supporters from concerts to picnics in the park to orange walks to meeting at local landmarks as they turn orange. Orange meet-ups are happening in Florida in Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Miami, Naples, Orlando, Plantation, and St. Petersburg. Specific Event details noted below.

DAYTONA BEACH

WHAT: A Burst of Orange – Daytona Beach Wears Orange: A family friendly event celebrating National Gun Violence Awareness Day

WHO: Leona Jackson, volunteer with the Florida Chapter of Moms Demand Action and Trina Cord, gun violence survivor

WHERE: 600 Jean St, Daytona Beach, FL 32114

WHEN: 5:30 PM

*FOR PRESS IN DAYTONA BEACH, please contact Leona Jackson [email protected] 386-898-4777

JACKSONVILLE – POSTPONED

WHAT: Jacksonville Wear Orange

WHO: Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America volunteers

WHERE: Saint John’s Cathedral (256 E. Church Street Jacksonville, FL)

WHEN: 6 PM

*FOR PRESS IN JACKSONVILLE, please contact Chryl Anderson: [email protected]; 904-330-4558

MIAMI

WHAT: Wear Orange Miami

WHO: Gabriela Loewenstein, Moms Demand Action; Charles R. Press, Chief of the Police Department of Key Biscayne; Megan Hobson, gun violence survivor

WHERE: Kennedy Park (Get directions 2400 S Bayshore Dr, Miami, FL)

WHEN: 5:30 PM

*FOR PRESS IN MIAMI, please contact Gabriela Loewenstein, [email protected] 727-412-3256

NAPLES

WHAT: Naples Wear Orange Event

WHO: Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America volunteers

WHERE: Cambier Park (755 8th Avenue South Naples, FL)

WHEN: 4 PM

*FOR PRESS IN NAPLES, please contact Katherine Cunningham, [email protected] 773-851-9681

ORLANDO

WHAT: Mom’s Demand Action and the National Action Network are hosting this event which will include guest speakers, a wear orange “photo booth” a kids activity and more.

WHO: Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America volunteers

WHERE: 400 S. Orange Ave. Orlando, FL

WHEN: 6:30 PM

*FOR PRESS IN ORLANDO, please contact Andrea Halperin, [email protected] 917-673-5124

PLANTATION

WHAT: Honoring & celebrating the life of Hadiya Pendleton & the 90 Americans killed every day by guns, & raising awareness of gun violence in the USA.

WHO: Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America volunteers

WHERE: Liberty Tree Park (7421 NW 5th St Plantation FL)

WHEN: 4 PM

*FOR PRESS IN PLANTATION, please contact Kathryn Reeve [email protected] 954-336-4926

ST. PETERSBURG

WHAT: Interactive, family-friendly community celebration to recognize National Gun Violence Awareness Day and remember victims of gun violence. Mural painting, artistic displays and more!

WHO: Mayor Rick Kriseman; Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America volunteers

WHERE: Skatepark (1401 62nd Ave. S. St Petersburg, FL)

WHEN: 4 PM

*FOR PRESS IN ST. PETERSBURG, please contact Ellen Moses, [email protected] 727-776-5284

All events nationwide are searchable via an online map(available here) and easy to track on June 2 by following the #WearOrange hashtag.

“I never dreamed something my friends and I came up with would inspire and empower so many people all over the country to get involved in ending gun violence,” said Nza-Ari Khepra, founder of Project Orange Tree and co-creator of Wear Orange. “Seeing the movement grow in states across the country and learning about all of the activity happening on June 2 this year brings me hope that we are making real progress to end gun violence.”

Wear Orange was inspired by friends of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old Chicago high school student killed by gunfire, who decided to honor her life by wearing orange – the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. On June 2, 2015, what would have been Hadiya’s 18th birthday, more than 200 organizations and influencers asked people nationwide to join them by wearing orange to honor her life, the lives of the more than 90 Americans killed by gun violence and the hundreds more who are injured every day. President Obama, Julianne Moore, Russell Simmons, Sarah Silverman, the New York Mets, MTV, Cosmopolitan, Motown Records, Michael J. Fox, Questlove and Katie Couric are just a few of those who answered the call last year, helping the #WearOrange message reach more than 220 million people in a single day.

Full details on Wear Orange 2016 available here.

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About Wear Orange

In 2013, a small group of teens at a South Side Chicago high school asked their classmates to honor the life of their murdered friend Hadiya Pendleton by wearing orange – the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others and a color that reflects the value of human life. They inspired the Wear Orange campaign (wearorange.org), a coalition of more than 200 non-profits, cultural influencers and elected officials working to reduce gun violence in America. Spearheaded by Everytown for Gun Safety, the campaign asks Americans who believe we can do more to save lives from gun violence to do one simple thing on June 2, National Gun Violence Awareness Day: Wear Orange. Those who wear orange pledge to honor the lives of Americans stolen by gun violence, to help keep firearms out of dangerous hands and to protect our children from gun violence. Wear Orange has already reached more than 220 million people worldwide and is fast becoming the symbol of the gun violence prevention movement.