CalL1 Stockton Ports

Ports Set To Kick Off New Reading Program

Published on January 17, 2007 under California League (CalL1)
Stockton Ports News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Ports are pleased to announce the launching of their new "Ports Baseball by the Books" Reading Program. With the new program, the Ports will use baseball as a backdrop to promote reading within local elementary schools.

The purpose of the "Ports Baseball by the Books" program is to spread the value of reading to local children. The program will intertwine the importance of reading with the excitement of baseball, which the Ports hope will help to increase literacy in the Greater Stockton area and beyond.

"The program not only reinforces our commitment to the community, but it also gives us a chance to be very proactive in influencing the reading habits of children," said Ports President Pat Filippone. "We're thrilled to kick off the Baseball by the Books program. This will be one of the many interactive community programs we will develop in the future. With this program we look forward to spreading the value of reading, and will be honored to host the children at Banner Island Ballpark during their school outing. "

The logistics of the program are straight-forward: The Ports will provide participating schools with bookmarks, which will be distributed to each student. On each bookmark, the students will report the reading they've done each week. Once the bookmark is filled, they must be returned to the teacher, signed by the teacher, and mailed back to the Ports by the deadline listed on the bookmark. Once the bookmarks are received and processed, Ports ticket vouchers will be sent to the teachers to distribute back to the students.

When school's sign up to participate, they also receive a special visit from Ports staff members and Splash. Ports staff members will explain and present the reading program to the school, and they'll also do a special reading of the beloved poem "Casey at the Bat," which has its origins in Stockton.

In addition, the Ports will donate $1,000 to the PTA of the school with the highest percentage of their students attending on their school date.

There is no cost for schools to participate in the program, which is set to kick off this week. Ports community relations manager Danielle Alt will be spearheading the reading program, and is looking forward to tying in local schools to the Ports community outreach.

"The reading program will help local students become active readers," said Alt. "The Ports will provide a fun dynamic to the classroom, along with the resources to encourage students to pick up a new book every week."

For more information on the "Ports Baseball by the Books" Reading Program, or to find out how your school can participate, contact Danielle at (209) 644-1900.




California League Stories from January 17, 2007


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