Derrick Rose teams up with Verizon Wireless to build awareness and prevent child abuse
May 11, 2009 -- Chicago Bulls guard and NBA Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose teamed up with Verizon Wireless to film a public service announcement in an effort to build awareness and prevent child abuse throughout Illinois. Rose participated in the PSA to promote Prevent Child Abuse America's Pinwheels for Prevention program, a national campaign introducing the pinwheel as the new symbol for child abuse prevention in the U.S.
“Family violence is not a topic that is easy to talk about and for that reason it is under-discussed by the public and under-reported to police by its victims,” said Rose. “It was important to me to film this PSA to bring awareness to this serious problem and help to prevent it in anyway I can.”
The PSA debuted in April during Child Abuse Prevention Month and was shown on the United Center scoreboard during each Bulls home game during April. It is just one of the domestic violence awareness initiatives involving the Chicago Bulls and Verizon Wireless. For every Bulls point scored throughout the 2008-2009 season, Verizon Wireless donated $2 to CharitaBulls, the Bulls non-profit organization, with the funds directed to domestic violence prevention agencies. This was the sixth year of the program, with $75,000 donated to date.