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Gun Violence Awareness Day: DC's sports teams band together to raise awareness

In its first two years of raising money during Wear Orange Weekend, DC's teams raised over $200,000 for community-based violence interrupting programs.

WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — On a beautiful day for baseball, fans were in for a treat with one of the best arms in town making his Major League debut.

Commanders first round draft pick, quarterback Jayden Daniels, threw out the game’s first pitch.

Sunday’s game fell on 'wear orange weekend'. Raising awareness and funds for gun violence prevention.

“The Commanders are here, DC United is here, the Spirit are involved as well," said Tal Alter, the CEO of Washington Nationals Philanthropies. "...really important for us all to come together to do something that is so meaningful in our community.”

Friday, the Washington Mystics held its "wear Orange" game, donating $25,000 to a D.C. nonprofit helping those affected by gun violence.

It’s a fairly new effort that saw D.C.’s professional sports teams raise over $200,000 over the past two years.

At Sunday's Nationals game, half the money fans spent on 50/50 raffle tickets went to local, community, violence interrupting organizations to help reduce gun violence in the DMV.

“You can be a fan of the Nationals, the Commanders, the Mystics, the Wizards, the Spirit, DC United... we’re all rowing our ores in the same direction," said Alter. "Especially when it comes to supporting our communities and making sure that it’s a safe place to live.”

One program that’s seeing some of the money raised gets kids on the diamond.

“We operate a program in a neighborhood in Ward 7 at the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, where unfortunately gun violence is a regular thing and is a part of the lives of children that we work with every day," said Alter. "It’s not just about prevention, it’s also ensuring that young people who are experiencing trauma are able to deal with that, deal with it positively and think about a future that’s positive.”

A message that every local D.C. team can get behind. 

RELATED: Three family members killed in D.C. in a little more than a decade

RELATED: Police, community members recognized for their work combatting youth violence

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