Road Warriors Give Back to Community with Holiday Spirit
December 23, 2013 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release
Greenville, SC: The Greenville Road Warriors have teamed up with several local partners to create a better Christmas for local children.
The Road Warriors began to spread their holiday cheer by assembling toys in the Sterling Community Center in Greenville. In their free time, Road Warriors' players jumped at the opportunity to assemble bicycles on Wednesday, December 10th for under-served children. The bikes were donated by the St. Francis Christian Outreach.
"We are truly a part of Greenville and look forward to doing whatever we can to help children have a merry Christmas," said Road Warriors defenseman Brad Cole. "It is important to give back and help those who are less fortunate whenever we can."
This is the first year for the Christmas bike program which is part of the Bon Secours St. Francis Mission Services. Bon Secours St. Francis worked in conjunction with Bike Street USA, the Greenville Road Warriors and Greenville County Parks, Recreation and Tourism to help make the holiday season brighter for children in the community.
Following the Road Warriors' fourth annual Teddy Bear Toss on December 13th, the team's players donated the stuffed animals during the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots event the following day. The event featured WSSL's morning show hosts Ellis and Bradley. Over 2,300 toys were donated by Road Warriors' fans, topping last season's donation. Fans donated the toys by throwing them on the ice after Marc-Olivier Vallerand scored the team's first goal. Vallerand was on hand the next morning to deliver the toys to the U.S. Marines Stuff the Truck Event along with teammates Charlie Dodero and Samuel Noreau.
"The community is very important to the Road Warriors organization and we are happy to be able to give back," said Road Warriors General Manager, Chris Lewis. "Our players, coaches, and staff always enjoy our community efforts, particularly when we can make the holidays brighter for children and families in the area." Lewis continued, "The Road Warriors organization will continue to support the local community and is excited about the opportunity to make an impact in 2014!"
Players, coaches, and front office staff adopted children through a local children's advocacy group that works through Headstart Centers in Greenville County. The team and staff worked together to surprise the children with gifts from the Christmas lists they wrote for Santa.
In addition to community involvement, the Road Warriors have extended outreach to Greenville County schools. Over 6,300 students took part in the Reading Warriors program which challenges and inspires elementary students in the Upstate. By reading books, elementary and middle school students earned one complimentary ticket voucher to a special Reading Warriors Game Night with their classmates and a complementary kid's meal from Burger King!
Over 300 elementary students participated in the Road Warriors' annual Sing for Santa night on Saturday, December 7th. For the fourth consecutive year, participating schools sang the national anthem and classic Christmas carols during the first intermission.
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