CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The United Neighborhoods of Charlotte held the city's first Charlotte Day event in Freedom Park this weekend.
The community group said it is giving back and working to cut down on the city’s violence with a mission that starts with reaching out to children.
“What I want Charlotte to take away is, and I say Charlotte to take away from it, is the love and the peace and get back to being our neighbors,” said Will Adams, with United Neighborhoods of Charlotte.
The event started with a 10-mile charity ride and then a community get-together at Freedom Park. Organizers also collected thousands of bookbags to fill with school supplies and hand out to students.
"We want 10,000 kids to be able to go to school with the essentials that they need to perform in school and not make a gun a part of it," Adams said in June while planning the event. "This event is for everybody, not just the black or white or the west side of town, but for everybody to come together to stop the violence because we want to see our kids go to school and not worry about a gun."
The event was backed by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office and Mayor Vi Lyles.
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