SPHL Mississippi RiverKings

Volunteers Needed for Face off Field Trip Presented by Belhaven University

Published on January 19, 2012 under SPHL (SPHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN-An army of volunteers are needed for the RiverKings' 10th Face Off Field Trip presented by Belhaven University on Feb. 28.

"Volunteers are a huge part of making this event happen every year," Community Development Coordinator Whitley Rives said. "A lot of preparation goes into making sure the event layout ensures the safety of each child and facilitating the easy arrival and departure of each bus. It takes a lot of manpower."

In the two weeks before the event, a handful of season ticket holders often volunteer to help with small jobs such as bundling pencils and stuffing goody bags for teachers while watching RiverKings games in their seats at the Landers Center arena.

However, most of the work happens the Monday before the game (Feb. 27) 6:30-8:30 p.m. and then Tuesday, Feb. 28 beginning at 7:30 a.m. and lasting until the last bus leaves the parking lot, somewhere between 12:30 and 1 p.m. Interested parties should call Rives or Sylvia Petty at the RiverKings office to sign up, 662.342.1755.

"There is nothing like watching the excitement and wonder on a child's face as he searches for the answer to a quiz question, or simply views his first professional sporting event," Rives says.

In addition to a full-color, 32-page workbook that uses hockey to teach everything from parts of speech to math, physics, geography and healthy choices, all the game stoppages are tailored to students grades 3-6.

"It's like a really huge educational game show," Rives says.

The goal is to use the 2 ½ hour event to introduce and reinforce principles taught in the schools' core curriculum through a medium of live entertainment and sports. This extends even to recruiting RiverKings players to star in funny educational videos based on exercises from the workbook.

"They are such good sports, and we have them do some really silly things to illustrate the concepts, such as dress up in silly costumes to "˜travel' to other countries, or body checking each other to demonstrate the physics principle of force," Rives says.

The mission, Rives says, is to use hockey and sports to energize students about the things they are learning every day. Bottom line: fun learning.

"When we say it's the coolest classroom in the Mid-South, we're not just referring to the temperature on the ice," she says.

Every student also receives a pencil and a special RiverKings noisemaker.

For more information about the Face Off Field Trip or about RiverKings fundraising, other programs for nonprofits, or ticket information, please contact the RiverKings office at 662-342-1755.

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