Basketball event aims to raise awareness of gun violence, celebrate holiday for kids

Jordan Smith, South Bend Tribune
·2 min read
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SOUTH BEND ― A community basketball event on Saturday aims to raise awareness of gun violence in South Bend while also encouraging families to bring children free of charge for a Halloween candy giveaway.

The "574 Stop the Violence Celebrity Basketball Game" will be held from 4-8 p.m. at the YMCA O'Brien Center, said event organizer Xavier Pittman. Team Stop the Violence will play Team Put the Guns Down around 5 p.m., with each team featuring former top high school athletes well known in the South Bend area, Pittman said.

In addition to the game, Chicago rapper El Hitta will perform at halftime alongside a live DJ. South Bend hip hop artists MLB Phatzz and Blu Casey will also perform, Pittman said.

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Admission is $15 for adults and free for children under 16, said Pittman, and doors open at 3 p.m. Candy will be handed out to kids. The YMCA O'Brien Center is located at 321 E. Walter St. on the far south side.

Pittman said event revenue will go to him because he's paying for most of the event himself. He said he wasn't aware of local gun violence intervention groups with which he could partner.

Pittman, 24, said he moved to South Bend from Chicago in 2016 and started his promotion company, Major Visions Promotions, the next year.

He's become known in South Bend for organizing parties and hip hop showcases, he said. But he got the idea for a basketball game highlighting the issue of gun violence from organizers in his native city.

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“It's a lot of violence and stuff going on in the city," he said, "so I thought, why not bring the city together for one huge event and make it big?”

Other organizations participating in the event are Black Lives Matter South Bend, Legendary Era, and an array of local businesses and influencers, according to a press release.

Reach out to South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend basketball game to raise awareness of gun violence