DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — On Saturday afternoon, dozens of boys and girls took to the field at Eastway Elementary in Durham for a couple of hours of football drills.

Coaches with the Bull City Athletic Association volunteer twice a week to mentor and teach the children the fundamentals of football.

Fred Evans, director of the Bull City Bulldogs, said they serve a lot of inner-city children. He said with the rise in recent shootings, the program is vital to keeping kids out of trouble.

“You don’t know where the next gunshot or the next bullet is going to stray,” Evans said. “Kids don’t have a chance to be kids anymore. So we want to give them the opportunity and let them come here. Number one, we teach discipline and discipline goes a long way.”

Evans said the number of kids they are serving continues to grow and since their organization is paying for everything out of pocket, they are in need of thousands of dollars to help purchase uniforms and football equipment.

On Saturday, the group held a fundraiser at Eastway Elementary School where they sold hamburgers, hotdogs, and fried fish in hopes of raising money to help pay for equipment.

The group plans to hold this fundraiser every Saturday at noon at Eastway Elementary until August when football season starts.

“We’re going to continue to do our part to keep the kids safe and involved in something where there’s less chance the streets can get to them,” Evans said. “Whatever we have to do, if we have to have a fish fry every day, I’m going to do it. When you’re doing positive, a lot of negative things don’t come to you. So continue to be in something positive and we’re going to provide that for them.”

Evans said they are also looking for people who can sponsor a child and help them pay for the uniforms they can’t afford.

If you would like to make a donation to the organization, go to their website at bcitybulldogs.com.