Phils' Rollins going to White House to promote PSA

Jimmy Rollins is heading to the White House.

On Thursday morning, the Phillies shortstop will join Vice President Biden, senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, and Lynn Rosenthal, the White House adviser on violence against women, to release a public service announcement that will air this summer.

The PSA will feature President Obama, Biden, Rollins and other pro athletes, who deliver the message that dating violence is unacceptable.

Rollins said a production company came to Philadelphia a few weeks ago to tape his segment.

"Any time the White House asks you to do something, it's pretty cool," Rollins said before Wednesday's home game against the Colorado Rockies. "The Bidens are very big Phillies fans, and I helped out the first time in 2008 when the election was going on and that started a relationship."

In 2008, Rollins introduced Biden in a get-out-to-vote rally in South Philadelphia.

As for this current endeavor, Rollins said the White House contacted the Phillies to ask if he would participate.

"It's surreal to know that the White House called and was asking for me," he said.

According to the White House, in the last year, one in 10 teens has reported being physically hurt intentionally by a boyfriend or girlfriend. One in five young women has been sexually assaulted while in college, the White House said.

In response to these statistics, Biden launched the "1 is 2 many" campaign last year. This campaign focuses his long-standing commitment to reducing violence against women, specifically teens and those ages 16-24.

Rollins' wife, Johari, gave birth to a girl, Camryn Drew, last month. He also has a sister, Shay, and says the subject of dating violence is close to his heart.

"Women should not have that fear," Rollins said.

Rollins, who also has a relationship with Obama, has been to the White House on a few occasions, not including May 2009, when the Phillies were honored for winning the 2008 World Series.

"The White House is a place where the president resides and the biggest and most powerful people in the country are," Rollins said. "It's always interesting to go there, and it's hard to grasp that they are just human beings because they mean so much to everyone else in the world."

Rollins has a long history of community service, and from 2006-11, he raised nearly $1 million to benefit Philadelphia-area charities.