Gainesville residents will raise awareness of bullying during the Unity Day Rally and March Against Bullying on Wednesday.
Marchers should gather at the northwest corner of Southwest 13th Street and West University Avenue at 4 p.m.
After the one-mile march east to the Bo Diddley Community Plaza, the rally will begin at 5:30 p.m.
The rally is sponsored by the local River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding in partnership with the national Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights.
“Bullying shapes young people so easily,” said Heart Phoenix, board president of River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding. “We hope to end bullying this year.”
The rally will feature several speakers such as Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe, Gainesville Chief of Police Tony Jones and county school board members, as well as musical guest Dani Shay from the California anti-bullying campaign group Be More Heroic.
Phoenix hopes that about 150 people will attend. The organization invited several schools in the county as well as other community organizations.
The organization offers mediation services, diversity training, anger management courses and more, according to its website.
Gators for Alternative Dispute Resolution, a Levin College of Law organization that focuses on mediation, will co-sponsor the rally.
Marchers will wear orange shirts, which is the color for bully prevention awareness.
October is National Bullying Prevention Month.
“We think that bullying is a cornerstone to kids who feel disempowered,” Phoenix said.
