Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu inspires the future with new school program

Entering the offseason, there was a great deal of uncertainty surrounding which members of the Chicago Bulls would be making a return to the team in 2024 and beyond. Ayo Dosunmu was no exception to this, as he’d be one of 9 players from last year’s roster set to hit free agency and potentially bring his feel-good story in Chicago to an end.

In the end, the Bulls’ front office would ultimately decide to bring Dosunmu on a fully guaranteed three-year deal, an extension that now takes him through to 2026. He will be paid $21 million throughout the course of the contract, an average value of $7 million per year.

It didn’t take long for Ayo to repay the favor, as the promising young guard reaffirmed his commitment to his home city of Chicago by establishing a new program to support children’s education. The newly established Ayo’s Scholars program seeks to incentivize children to overachieve in school by offering tickets to Chicago Bulls games as a potential reward for reaching honor roll status.

Ayo’s Scholars will help Chicago children push themselves by offering Bulls tickets as a potential reward.

Ayo’s Scholars has been established with the intent to drive kids to achieve good grades, while at the same time giving back to the city that helped raise him. Students at Beasley’s Academic Center in Chicago — the same school Dosunmu attended — will have the opportunity to win tickets to see the Chicago Bulls in person simply by staying on top of their grades and achieving honor roll status.

Here’s what Dosunmu had to say about the announcement of the Ayo’s Scholars program.

"“I want to impact the community in a positive way and give them a great incentive. Kids who normally get Cs or they’re borderline honor roll, it may give them an extra push to help them make the honor roll, and I think that’s what it’s all about.”"

Ayo now follows in the footsteps of other Bulls’ greats by accomplishing charitable work in the city. Perhaps the most notable Bulls philanthropist in recent memory is the beloved Joakim Noah, who has done a great deal of work to help children find their own paths in life via his Noah’s Arc Foundation. Joakim has even announced plans to kickstart a Chicago-based professional basketball league, a feat that would help keep people off the streets and provide even more jobs to the city.

Dosunmu is off to a great start here both on and off the court for the Bulls. If he manages to leave a lasting legacy like the aforementioned Noah, I do not doubt that this will just be the first of many contract extensions Ayo receives in Chicago.