Started in 1990 solely as a celebrity basketball game, The Charlie Mack Party 4 Peace Celebrity Weekend has evolved into a charitable benefit to raise awareness and money for organizations that seek to eradicate violence. “As a native Philadelphian, I wanted to provide young people with a vehicle to interact with today’s entertainment industry actors/actresses and professional sports players, however, it was after the loss of my two brothers that I saw an even greater need to create a fundraising benefit to assist anti-violence organizations,” states Mack. Charlie Mack is considered by many in the entertainment and music industry as a seasoned insider with ties to many of today’s leading actors/actresses and musical greats.

In 2006, Academy nominee and mega-star Will Smith joined his long time friend and confidante during the weekend and was clearly stunned by the crime plaguing the city of Philadelphia. Smith stated, “It is hard for me to get a grip on what is happening in the streets of Philadelphia, the same streets that I grew up in and walk through, however, I do understand there is a different mind set today then when I was raised so I feel compelled to do something and join my friend, Charlie Mack in curtailing the violence.”

The Charlie Mack Party 4 Peace Celebrity Weekend is sponsored in part by Platinum Productions, Livenation, Keystone Mercy, PECO, Laborers’ District Council of the Metropolitan Area of Philadelphia and Vicinity, WURD and Philadelphia Multicultural Affairs Congress.