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MWL1 Kane County Cougars

Cougars Helping Hands Stretch Far This Season

August 22, 2005 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Kane County Cougars News Release


GENEVA, IL - Developed in the fall of 2002, the Kane County Cougars charitable arm, Ozzie's Outreach, has spread wide throughout the Chicago area, encompassing many of the community efforts made by the organization and their fans. Donating thousands of dollars and tickets to children and families throughout Kane and surrounding counties, the Cougars offer many thanks to the companies, including Provena Mercy Medical Center, Papa Murphy's Pizza, the Chicago Tribune, the Kane County Chronicle, Fisher Peanuts, Arby's and the Sheet Metal Workers Local 265, that support Ozzie's Outreach and make the foundation possible.

Sponsored by Papa Murphy's Pizza, the Chicago Tribune and Provena Mercy Medical Center, Ozzie's Reading Club, promotes literacy and the enjoyment of reading to more than 400 schools and 120,000 students annually. Marking the program's eleventh year in 2005, Ozzie's Reading Club is designed, based on an eight-week reading program, to provide real rewards with reachable goals for kids. Allowing each teacher to establish the four specific reading levels (1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base and Home Run) for his or her students, the Cougars assist teachers with providing materials such as classroom posters and incentive prizes consisting of bookmarks, coupons, t-shirts and a ticket to a Cougars game.

Similar to the Ozzie's Reading Club, the Roundtrippers Summer Reading Program encourages recreational reading to kids once the school books are closed for the warm-weather stretch. Involving more than 10,000 readers at eleven libraries throughout Kane and neighboring counties, Roundtrippers is made possible by the support of Fisher Peanuts, Papa Murphy's Pizza and the Kane County Chronicle. Designed with three levels with reading goals set by individual libraries, Roundtripper readers have the opportunity to see their name in special Roundtrippers advertisements in the Kane County Chronicle, receive a Cougars puzzle and earn a ticket to one of two designated Roundtrippers Nights at a Cougars game where they will be honored in a pre-game parade.

For the better part of the last decade, Chicagoland Arby's Restaurants, has given the unique opportunity to hundreds of non-profit organizations from the greater Chicago area to join the Cougars for a ball game. Through donations of up to 50 tickets per organization, Ozzie's Outreach, on behalf of Arby's, provides groups such as the Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters, ChildServ, Little Friends, Best Buddies of Illinois and more the chance to see a professional baseball game, an experience they may not get otherwise. In 2005 alone, Ozzie's Outreach has given more than 650 tickets to more than twenty different groups.

Generating more than $700 and still counting, the Sheet Metal Workers Local 265 donates $25 to a local charity for each home run a Cougars slugger knocks out of Elfstrom Stadium. Due to the Cougars smacking 28 dingers in the first half of the season, the Sheet Metal Workers made their $700 contribution to the Senior Services of McHenry County, a non-profit agency dedicated to sustaining and improving the quality of life for mature adults by providing access to the social services they need. To date in the second half, the Cougars have collected 30 home runs, which mean $750 for the Sheet Metal Workers. Funds raised from the second half will benefit Mooseheart Child City, a complete community for young people, which includes its own homes, schools, cathedral, farm, health center, post office and utilities. Situated on 1,000 acres in the Fox River Valley, about 38 miles west of Chicago, Mooseheart offers stability to children from broken homes and those who have lost one or both parents.

So what do a hospital, two newspapers, a pizza place, a fast food restaurant, peanuts and a union have in common? They amongst many others make Cougars baseball and the team's community involvement possible, bringing new experiences and smiles to hundreds of thousands of kids and families each year.

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Cougars 2005 individual and group packages are on sale now. For additional information regarding 2005 tickets, contact the Cougars box office at 630/232-8811 or visit kccougars.com.

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