<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Cavs&src=hash">#Cavs</a> forward Luol Deng fighting to Save the Children <a href="http://t.co/M1id9Rj7at">http://t.co/M1id9Rj7at</a> <a href="http://t.co/cp8H9fFcO2">pic.twitter.com/cp8H9fFcO2</a></p>— M.S. Boyer/J. Valade (@PDcavsinsider) <a href="https://twitter.com/PDcavsinsider/statuses/479376879284404224">June 18, 2014</a></blockquote>
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cavaliers forward Luol Deng never forgets his roots.
A refugee whose family fled his native Sudan when he was 5 years old, Deng has donated $30,000 to Save the Children ahead of World Refugee Day on Friday -- and he's asking his friends and fans to join the effort, too.
The Luol Deng Foundation is partnering with Save the Children to provide critical child protection services for the 2.5 million South Sudanese children who are at risk of being separated from their families and recruited into armed groups.
"Today I call Chicago, Cleveland and London home, but I never forgot where I came from,'' Deng said in a press release issued by Save the Children. "I know how it feels to be far from home. I know how it feels to struggle and to be afraid for my life and my family.
"I am calling on all of you who have provided me with support and encouragement throughout my career to join forces with me now. Let's create a better tomorrow for the children of South Sudan."
Using social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter @LuolDeng9, and Instagram @LuolDeng9#, Deng, who received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award from the Professional Basketball Writers Association last season in honor of his community service, is encouraging family, friends and fans to join him in supporting this cause and making a donation at
www.savethechildren.org/deng. For more information about The Luol Deng Foundation, visit
www.LuolDeng.org.