For
Immediate Release
Tuesday, December 14, 2000
Athletes
Team Up to Urge Bay Area Parents to Talk with Their Kids about
Tough Issues
New Effort
to be Launched at Warriors Game Tonight
OAKLAND,
CA--Antawn Jamison (Golden State Warriors), Gil Heredia (Oakland
Athletics) and Rich Gannon (Oakland Raiders) are joining forces
to bring a special message to Bay Area parents. Children Now,
a national child advocacy organization, is launching the Triple
Team Partnership, a year-long initiative involving an unprecedented
mix of media related events and corporate and community partnerships.
Based on the national Talking with Kids about Tough Issues campaign,
which encourages parents to communicate with their kids asyoung
as 8 to 12 years old about sensitive issues like sex, violence,
drugs, alcohol and HIV/AIDS, this partnership marks the first
time the three Alameda County professional sports franchises have
joined together to promote a public service message.
The official
kick-off for the campaign will take place during a Golden State
Warriors home game on Thursday, December 14. The first 5,000 fans
in attendance at the game will receive a free 2001 Talking with
Kids calendar featuring the three players, along with monthly
tips for parents to talk with their children. Warriors star Antawn
Jamison will also deliver a message about the importance of the
campaign during a special halftime presentation at the game.
Oakland
Raiders star quarterback Rich Gannon will be the first Triple
Team Partner to be featured in a Talking
with Kids public service announcement, to air locally
beginning this fall. The spot features Gannon encouraging parents
to "tackle tough issues, before they tackle your kids."
Each athlete is also featured in the special Talking with Kids
2001 calendar and will appear at various campaign related
events.
"The
holidays are a great time to begin talking with our kids,"
said Lois Salisbury, president of Children Now. "This special
time is all about family gatherings and shared values. This season
we encourage parents to use some family time to communicate openly
with their kids."
In addition
to the sports teams, nearly two dozen Bay Area corporations and
community organizations are sponsoring this effort by hosting
events, placing campaign materials in customer mailings or special
promotions throughout 2001. Many of these groups, like YMCA of
the East Bay, Girls Inc. and the Spanish Speaking Unity Council
will provide free parenting workshops in the communities they
serve. Others have donated media space to carry the campaign message.
AC Transit and BART will run ads on buses and trains, while Safeway
stores will place the campaign's "ten tips" on customers'
grocery bags throughout the region.
With
one of the largest child populations in California, the Bay Area
ranks high in cases of teen pregnancy, violence among youth and
many other risk factors for children. Existing research indicates
the best way parents can prevent their kids from participating
in such risky behavior is by talking with their kids while they
are still young.
"Parents
of young children have the important chance to be the first people
to share information about these issues with their kids,"
said Lois Salisbury. "This is the time when kids are becoming
aware of the world around them and want more information from
their parents. By the time they reach the teenage years, they
tend to look as much to peers and others sources when they have
questions."
The Talking
with Kids campaign, sponsored by Children Now and the Henry J.
Kaiser Family Foundation, debuted in 1997. The national effort
has featured public service announcements featuring President
Clinton, Kobe Bryant, Gloria Estefan and 'NSYNC, encouraging parents
to call the campaign's toll free number 1-800-CHILD-44
or visit its Web site www.talkingwithkids.org
for a FREE parenting booklet. The booklet offers
specific tips on how to start these difficult conversations and
make sure they keep happening. In the four years of the campaign,
over 500,000 booklets in English and Spanish have been distributed.
Suggested
sidebar: Additional Talking with Kids tips include: Start early,
initiate conversations, create an open environment, use everyday
opportunities, address fears, communicate values, listen, give
the facts and try to be honest.
Complete Triple Team sponsors list: Alameda
Alliance for Health, AC Transit, Big Brothers and Big Sisters
of America, Girls Inc., Golden State Warriors, Kaiser Permanente,
KRON-TV, Oakland A's, Oakland Raiders, Oakland Unified School
District, PG&E, Safeway, Spanish Speaking Citizens Foundation,
Spanish Speaking Unity Council, West Oakland Health Center, YMCA.