The event, which took place at the Chicago Civic Auditorium, was initially billed as the launch of the “The Rose Way Foundation 2.0” charity fund. But no one expected Rose to walk onto the stage with a check worth more than $10 million, representing more than 1,000 students receiving scholarships this school year. The entire audience stood up and applauded for nearly three minutes straight.
“I was a kid who wasn’t sure if I could go to school tomorrow. Now I want to help those kids believe that their tomorrow is real,”
A source from The Athletic said the fund was partly backed by a secret group of investors, including several famous faces in the technology and sports world. However, specific details about the funding have not been announced, causing the media and online community to ask: “How can Derrick Rose – who no longer has a big contract in the NBA – pour in such a huge amount of money?”
On social network X (Twitter), the keyword #Rose1000Scholarships climbed straight to the top trending in just 20 minutes. A series of players, artists and even politicians sent their congratulations. LeBron James wrote: “This is something that really changes people’s lives. Salute to D-Rose 👏🏽.” Meanwhile, former coach Tom Thibodeau was caught in tears when he heard Rose’s speech: “He was always a giver, even when he had nothing left to give.”
According to estimates, each scholarship is worth an average of about $10,000, including tuition, learning equipment and living support for students from low-income areas. The “Rose Way 2.0” Foundation also announced plans to cooperate with 20 public high schools in Chicago, New York and Memphis to open a mental training program – combining sports and education.
While fans were overwhelmed with emotion, some sports economic commentators questioned whether Rose was embarking on a serious post-NBA journey in the social sphere, even suggesting that he could get involved in local politics in the future.
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