On Dec. 12, the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Park District and Zenni Optical, the team’s first-ever jersey patch sponsor and Official Eyewear Partner, launched a pep rally at Fosco Park for students in the Chicago Park District’s Park After School Program to kick off their year-round initiative called “Framing the Future.” Framing the Future’s mission is to provide affordable eyewear and eye protection to the Chicago community and enhance the facilities and programs at the local parks.
More than 200 children and their families were invited to the pep rally and they were treated to a nice surprise. The beloved Chicago mascot Benny the Bull, with the assistance of a member from Zenni, read his “Super Benny” children’s book. The book told a tale of Benny fighting to save people from the harmful blue light that harms people’s eyes. Also Bulls’ forward Wendell Carter Jr. and guard Shaquille Harrison played basketball with the kids after the reading of “Super Benny.” At the end of the event Zenni sent the children and their families home with a copy of “Super Benny” and a pair of protective glasses.
Sean Pate, Branding Communications Officer for Zenni Optical opened up about partnership with the Bulls and motivation for launching this community event.
“Zenni and the Chicago Bulls partnership came together because the Bulls were looking for a jersey sponsor,” Pate said when asked about the partnership with the Bulls. ”One of the things that they were attracted to from our standpoint was our mission and our sense of doing good in the community. We not only offered a product, but that it is ridiculously affordable and the idea that we wanted to promote eye health and awareness about eye protection in the community. The partnership came together really quickly and we have been a jersey sponsor for them for over a season now and we love working with a legacy brand like the Bulls.”
“Community outreach was some of the initial conversations we had with the Bulls, because we wanted to have a part in this community,” Pate added. “We are based in San Francisco but Chicago is our second home, and we feel that doing things in the community will not only get people familiar with our brand but help accomplish our mission. The Bulls do a great job with engaging their community which is why we feel that they were the perfect partner for us.”
“I hope more companies will charge less for glasses like Zenni has done,” Pate expressed while explaining the impact that glasses will have in the future. “Glasses are already a fashion statement today. I wear my protective glasses everyday even though I have 20/20 vision because I am staring at my phone and computer monitors everyday. As we go on in the future, I hope more people will realize that protecting their eyes without a prescription is something they can do everyday and wear with style.”
Overall, this was a great event and the children had a ball. It was encouraging that the Bulls and Zenni Optical were able to bring such joy to the children and their family’s faces as the holidays continue to approach. This event was both fun and educational. It is apparent that both the Bulls and Zenni care for their community.
