Earlier in December, the Eagles awarded $270,000 in grants to area-based organizations through their social justice fund.
According to the City Controller’s Office, gun violence homicides in Philadelphia are down 40% from 2023. Prior to that, the incidence rate decreased 23% from 2022 to 2023. While proactive measures are being taken around the city, gun violence continues to be a major concern and has disproportionately affected underserved communities of color.
With the help of these organizations, the Eagles built the End Philly Gun Violence initiative to serve as a helpful resource for the community and steer young people to proven and effective help.
The following three organizations spoke with PhiladelphiaEagles.com to share their message and group's mission to help end gun violence in Philadelphia.
The Center for Violence Prevention (CVP) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
The Center for Violence Prevention at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia runs several programs which involve helping kids across against violence over their lifespan.
The CVP started in 2013 in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, providing intensive programs for families who have gone through any sort of violent experiences, including gun violence.
"We have a robust gun safety program which encourages our clinical staff to have non-judgmental conversations with families about guns, either in their home or in homes where their children may visit. And we offer education as well as free gun locking devices, so gun locks and gun safes, completely free of charge, just to promote the safest home for a child as a home without a gun," Associate Director of Communications for the Center for Injury Research and Prevention and Center for Violence Prevention at CHOP Lindsey Mitros said.
"Our whole center is built on the principle of community-based, participatory research. We're bringing in the voices of the community and working alongside them to make sure everything we're doing is going to be well received."
CHOP aims to help families know that they have resources and ways to prevent traumatic incidents from happening. And if they do, CHOP is there to help them on the road to recovery.
"At CHOP, the goal of pediatrics is to raise kids to be healthy adults. And when we think about health, you have to think about violence as a public health issue, really, alongside any other clinical issue that a child may be facing coming into CHOP. We really want to think about violence in the same lens. And so, we're always thinking about a prevention model, and how can we prevent these things from happening," Mitros said.
"We've been so fortunate to partner with the Eagles, and I think the Eagles have been so generous in using their platform and their incredible fan base to really help shine a light on gun violence prevention. Gun violence is the number one cause of death for children in this country. It has surpassed motor vehicle crashes, which for years, was the number one cause of death. And so, it is a huge concern. It is a huge community concern. It is a multi-faceted public health challenge, and it will take a community effort to see positive change."
Rock to the Future
Rock to the Future was started in 2010 under the leadership of Jessica Craft, the CEO and Founder of the organization.
The organization supports youth development and economic empowerment through free, student-driven music programs for children in under-resourced areas in Philadelphia.
"We focus on areas that are under resourced and that have been affected by budget cuts and disinvestment in communities. We are really intentional about the way that we provide our music programming in order to get youth through the door. Then we're able to provide additional services like mentoring, education support, and even resource support, which might help with food, housing, mental, and physical health needs," Craft said.
"It's really a holistic approach to supporting young people, improving mental health, staying in school, pursuing college or trade programs, which ultimately leads to lives of economic mobility and dignity and happiness."
Rock to the Future has served 1,100 children each year with 100 percent of MusiCore graduates pursing college or trade school. More than 3,000 community members enjoy free annual showcases and $73,000 each year goes to teens for learning creative skills.
"It's just really unbelievable the kind of impact that high quality and consistent programs can have when youth have access to them. We aren't doing it for any acknowledgement or accolade, but when you have parents that come up to us and say that their children have transformed and are now excited to go to school or they are communicating more and have friendships now, and they're not worried about their kids' futures because they have a pathway and a purpose, I mean, that's incredible," Craft said.
Shoot Basketballs NOT People
Shoot Basketballs NOT People is a movement dedicated to transforming communities and preventing violence through the power of basketball.
Started in 2010, the program is led by Garry Mills and has impacted more than 2,000 kids in the Northwest section of Philadelphia with a primary focus in Germantown.
"Our current programming is at Germantown Friends, where we show kids the holistic side of basketball. So, we wanted first to introduce to the market yoga, Pilates, and meditation, in addition to our player development program. And ever since we've done that, we've have seen amazing numbers go up with the type of kids that's coming into it, inner-city kids learning how to basically balance their emotions," Mills said.
Mills started SBNP after having lost 14 family members and friends to gun violence over the course of his life.
His goal was to prevent gun violence, with a focus on the youth.
"How can I save the next child, whether they love basketball or not? You know, I wanted to create a safe haven for those kids and not have to deal with some of the things that I dealt with that I didn't have resources for. So now that was the start to Shoot Basketballs NOT People kind of being a safe haven for these inner-city kids to have access to opportunities and give them resources," Mills said.
"As a die-hard Eagles fan, I'm ecstatic, honestly. As a leader, on the organization side, it's instrumental that the Eagles are recognizing organizations and grassroots leaders that are out here actually doing the work with low budgets. Like I said, we're ecstatic that the Eagles wants to get on board with us, because it shows that larger conglomerates, especially in sports and in the NFL, are focusing on grassroots leaders that are actually doing the work to prevent these children from being shot, but more importantly, giving us a platform to tell our story."
– Written by Liam Wichser
