RICHMOND, Va (WRIC) – Hundreds of people gathered at Broad Rock Park Saturday afternoon for Enrichment of Richmond Day, a positive break from the area’s recent string of violence.
The event was hosted by The Rock Project, LLC, a local youth mentoring program. Organization leaders said they want days like Saturday to help lead future generations in the right direction.
After the violent Fourth of July weekend Richmond saw, Saturday was a chance for hundreds of people to come together and for young people to talk with mentors they can look up to.
Free face painting, exotic animals and free school supplies were all a part of Saturday’s event. While fun, the main goal of Enrichment of Richmond Day was to give people a place to come together safely.
One of the hosts was NFL player and Richmond native Anthony Harris. He was also joined by Philadelphia Eagles Safety.
Harris said the same kind of violence the River City is experiencing is happening in other areas of the country as well. He hopes events like this one will bring the community together.
“It’s really a community effort on, you know, how each individual does is just about helping each other through hard times and really just coming together when we need each other,” Harris told 8News Saturday.
Several business owners were also at the park, including Alicia Quivers, founder of RVA Dancing Angels.
She said it’s important for young people to get involved with the community and get that mentorship.
“I love kids. If I could embrace all of them, I would,” Quivers said. “Because there’s so much going on out here and they need more people like us to come into the community and reach out and bring them in.”
This was the second annual Enrichment of Richmond Day. Johnston hopes to have the same event in 2022.
