DALLAS (April 8, 2005) – On April 8th, the Dallas Mavericks teamed up with the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC) to host Mavs Story Hour for children affected by abuse. Darrell Armstrong, Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki read to children ages 4-16 during the story hour presented by Verizon SuperPages, Chick-fil-A and Comcast. This event was not open to media due to privacy concerns for the youth.

“Role models are unfortunately hard to find for all us, and the children served at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center live in worlds where role models often become abusers and where life’s stories are altered beyond belief,” said interim President & CEO Larry Robins. “Mavs Story Hour provides a unique positive experience that not only gives the gift of reading, but also helps create stories of hope. We thank the Dallas Mavericks for their caring commitment.”

Mavs Story Hour, conducted at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, featured Mavs players reading to small groups of children, talking with them, signing autographs and providing a brief respite from unhappy circumstances. In addition, all attendees received meals from Chick-fil-A and drinks from Dr Pepper.

About Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC):
The mission of the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC) is to break the cycle of child abuse through collaborative intervention in a child-sensitive environment. This is accomplished through a unique public/private partnership that combines the forces of the police, prosecutors, Child Protective Services, therapists and medical personnel to create a speedy and effective means of investigating child abuse – and helping to restore the child to physical and mental health. DCAC is an innovative approach to improve the treatment of child victims of sexual and physical abuse in Dallas County. The goal of DCAC is to minimize each child’s trauma, provide immediate and ongoing treatment and services and ensure proper investigation of cases.

Darrell, Mike and Dirk visited with children at DCAC. mavs.com