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Patriots Donate $500,000 To Educate Teens About Dating Violence Prevention

BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Attorney General Maura Healey and the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation are joining forces in an effort to stem the tide of teen dating violence in Massachusetts high schools.

Healey and Patriots owner Robert Kraft on Tuesday unveiled the "Game Change" program, which seeks to educate high school students, teachers and coaches about domestic violence and sexual assault.

"One in three people has experienced physical, emotional, sexual or verbal violence in a relationship," Healey said.

The foundation plans to provide $500,000 to launch the program in about 90 Massachusetts schools, part of an overall $1.5 million commitment to domestic violence organizations around the state.

"Through education and peer mentoring at a young age, we hope to affect change before it becomes an issue, not after," Kraft said.

One goal is to educate student-athletes in high schools about relationship violence, who in turn can act as mentors to younger children.

Schools interested in applying for the Game Change program can visit mass.gov/ago/gamechange.

The parents of Lauren Astley, a Wayland teen killed by a former boyfriend in July 2011, also spoke at the event.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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