For many, it was a regular Sunday. For M.A.R.C.S. Friends Support Group, Sunday, July 10 was a day to raise awareness against gun violence and to also remember the life of D’Marcus Hooper Jr., who lost his life to gun violence.

M.A.R.C.S. Friends Support Group hosted and held in Downing Park their fundraiser, 2 Laps Around The Park Fun Run. The local support and advocate group was created and founded by Newburgh native Jemika Hall. The purpose of this group and overall initiative is to provide support and offer a safe space for children and families who were victims of gun violence.

The program was named after Hooper Jr., Hall’s son, who at the age of 17, died due to gun violence and July 10, 2022 would have been his 22nd birthday. In the face of tragedy, Hall plans to continue youth outreach and programming for the children here in the city and Hudson Valley. “People needing Pampers or people needing this, yeah that’s important too but these kids killing each other is even more important,” Hall said.

“There’s no reason for the guns.”Hall is also currently searching for a space for her organization as she has no permanent location. Despite this setback, Hall will continue to provide outreach for her community wherever it is needed.

During the course of the morning and afternoon, local vendors operated out of their tents, DJs operated their turntables and played music and grills started to fire up to cook burgers and hot dogs for the runners after their laps. Laughter and community togetherness were all visible in the park.

According to Hall, several of her immediate family members and friends had made the trip to Newburgh that day and joined her in the celebration of D’Marcus’s life. Hall shared she was grateful for all those that came out on Sunday. “It’s overwhelming. I’m just grateful,” Hall said. “For me it means a lot that people came and we have people far away as Syracuse and North Carolina.”

Family members who made the trip like Hall’s sister, Dana Davis, who used to live in Newburgh, traveled from North Carolina with her children. Davis shared that she admired her sister’s effort to turn a negative situation into a positive outcome for the community as a whole and for the children of the community. “You see these things happening in the news all the time with gun violence. Young kids, just their whole life is over in the blink of a minute,” Davis said. “It’s going to take events like this and people coming together you know to unite and try to stop it. We can make a difference.”

The Newburgh Elite Track Club, coached by Newburgh natives Malcolm Burks and wife Felicia Hodges-Burks, were supposed to begin their sessions and training on Monday, July 11 but when asked to be a part of the run, the club and coaches came out to support and run for the cause. According to Malcolm, alumni as far back as 2004 and current track athletes from Newburgh Free Academy came out together to run and support this cause.
“Being a Newburgh native and they being Newburgh natives as well, it’s all about giving back and to see these young men come out today on a Sunday, giving their free time to give back to their community for a cause that we consider to be a concern and just, is overwhelming,” said Malcolm. “Our young men and women are our tomorrows.”

“It goes beyond just what they do on the track and community service is a big part of that. They [Newburgh Elite Track Club] are here because he [Malcolm] asked them to come,” said Felicia. “It’s about hope. When things don’t look very right, you have an event like this. It’s a reminder that you know there are people that are making steps and making efforts to move things forward.”

Orange ribbons against gun violence and shirts with the M.A.R.C.S. Friends Support Group logo and local sponsors were passed around and distributed for residents to take with them and residents enjoyed more food and local performances as the afternoon continued.