Groupon Partners with Cure Violence to Raise Gun-Violence Awareness

Daily deals giant Groupon’s employee volunteer program has partnered with Cure Violence, a Chicago-based advocate group “fighting to stop the spread of violence,” according to a post on Groupon’s Grassroots employee blog. The partnership comes shortly after the stance Groupon took in mid-January to end all gun-related deals, including shooting ranges and conceal-and-carry clay shooting.

As far as how Groupon is getting involved, “volunteers from our editorial department transcribed stories from violence interrupters at Cure Violence–affiliated organizations in cities across the nation, including Brooklyn, New York; Baltimore, Maryland; and Oakland, California.” The stories were relayed to Groupon’s people via phone calls, and the resulting transcripts will be posted on Cure Violence’s website.

Groupon’s blog has more reactions from staffers regarding the conversations they had, but here’s a taste of their thoughts: Groupon Writer Jon Schaff said, “For [Tim], 149 days without a murder in his community was a triumph; it was something I could tell he was really proud of. The idea that five months of peace in your backyard calls for celebration was shocking to me. It’s so far removed from the way I experience the world.”

David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as an interviewer-writer for Adult Swim, he's also a comedy-writing instructor for Second City. He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.

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