Rock Cats and Citizens Bank Team up for Kids Reading Summer Program

Published on August 5, 2015 under Eastern League (EL1)
New Britain Rock Cats News Release


New Britain, CT- The New Britain Rock Cats Baseball Club, the Double-A Eastern League Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, has announced that it will team once again team up with Citizens Bank for its annual "Reading Books In Summer" (RBIS) Program. For the 15th year, the RBIS Program continues to promote literacy by increasing the incentive for children ages 5-15 to read. Over one hundred public libraries and over 50,000 children participated in the RBIS Program last year.

The Rock Cats and Citizens Bank are also teaming up to hit a grand slam for literacy this summer, hosting book collection drives at each of the RBIS Recognition Nights. The Rock Cats will be collecting gently used books during those games and donating them in support of Read to Grow, a nonprofit organization that donates books to more than 20,000 Connecticut children each year in order to encourage early literacy and reading development.

"Citizens Bank is proud to partner with the Rock Cats and Read to Grow to inspire children to read during the summer and reward them for their hard work," said Lisa Maass, President, Citizens Bank, Connecticut. "Reading is the foundation of learning in all subjects. By providing access to books and keeping children reading during the summer we are helping them invest in their future."

The Rock Cats and Citizens Bank will reward young readers with two Reserved Tickets to a Summer Reading Recognition Night game at New Britain Stadium. Each child will be given the opportunity to choose between one of the three RBIS Recognition games to attend (August 11th, 12th, or 13th). A lucky participant in the RBIS program from each library will have the opportunity to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. The Rock Cats' popular mascot, Rocky, will be visiting the libraries for a Read-Along with the kids. All participating libraries received Rock Cats bookmarks, schedules, and posters.

"Citizens Bank has been a long time partner with the Rock Cats and we thank them for their continued support for our Reading Books In Summer Program and for helping Read to Grow," Rock Cats General Manager Tim Restall said. "This is a fun program to get kids excited about reading and reward them by having them enjoy a Rock Cats game." 

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Eastern League Stories from August 5, 2015


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