MANSFIELD, Ohio – The Mend Mansfield Coalition is gearing up for its next big community event, the Each One Reach One march and rally to take place on Saturday in downtown Mansfield.
Starting at noon, marchers will travel from the Renaissance Theatre to downtown Mansfield’s Central Park in a demonstration to encourage hope and nonviolence in the community. During the Mend Mansfield Coalition meeting on Tuesday, Rev. Derek Williams of Mount Calvary Baptist Church said the coalition’s first event in March drew more than 500 people and he expects more on Saturday.
“This community is no greater than the services we provide for that community, and we want to always be a bridge of hope to encourage people as it relates to nonviolence,” said Williams. “We are united; it’s a partnership and effort to make a difference in this community.”
Marchers will line up at 11 a.m. at the back of the Renaissance Theatre and will march to Central Park in downtown Mansfield, where various community organizations will be set up to provide music and entertainment, free food and giveaways for the community. The rally will begin at noon and will end around 3 p.m. with North Park Street closed to accommodate the rally.
Saturday’s rally will mark the culmination of Mend Mansfield’s “2,000 shoes in 2 months” project. Although many pairs of shoes will be given away to children in need on Saturday, the project fell short of its initial goal – Williams said so far less than 500 pairs of shoes have been donated.
“It’s not too late to purchase shoes,” said Williams. “We live in a community of 45,000, if each person had purchased a pair of shoes, in two months we would’ve had that goal easily.”
In addition to a shoe giveaway, Mend Mansfield will also provide more than 400 book bags for children filled with school supplies, courtesy of Gateway Resource Center. Children must be present at Saturday’s rally in order to receive their pair of shoes and book bag, and the items will be given away on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Children wishing to receive a pair of shoes on Saturday must sit through a presentation by the Mansfield Police Department about drugs and drug safety, featuring motivational speakers who have since beaten their drug addiction.
Williams touched on drug awareness during Tuesday’s meeting of the Mend Mansfield coalition, making sure all in attendance were aware of a new narcotic threatening Mansfield called “Alpha-PVP.” The drug, also known as “flakka” or “gravel,” has been known to induce paranoia and violence in those who use it.
“A lot of us have seen the show ‘The Walking Dead.’ This drug will literally have people dead but walking,” said Williams. “If we constantly overlook the importance of where our violence stimulates from, we’ll never really make an impact. At least 90 percent of crime in Mansfield and Richland County is accredited to drugs. We as concerned citizens have to look out for our children being introduced to different types of drugs and measures to connect to drugs.”
Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker emphasized the importance for the city of Mansfield and Richland County as a whole to come together against violence and work to abolish drugs.
“We should be the benchmark for other communities to look at,” said Theaker. “Saturday’s march will put us on the map, put us in front of everyone else that we as a community want to stand up against violence and drugs.”
“If we stay true to who we are and stay the course, we can make a permanent, positive impact,” said Williams.
Mend Mansfield is currently looking for at least 20 to 30 volunteers for the Each One Reach One march and rally on Saturday, Aug. 15 at Central Park in downtown Mansfield. More information regarding the rally and participation can be obtained at the Mend Mansfield Facebook page.
