CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocky's Reading Challenge Program set for 2007

Published on January 31, 2007 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE -- The Wilmington Blue Rocks announced that their mascot and No. 1 Blue Rocks fan, Rocky Bluewinkle, has officially kicked off his annual Rocky's Reading Challenge Program with area school districts for the 2007 calendar year. The Blue Rocks favorite moose visited Learning Express Academy in Newark on Monday, January 29 to start the 14th year of the program.

Rocky Bluewinkle (Rocky) plans to visit over 40 schools from the states of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey as well as the commonwealth of Pennsylvania leading up to the start of the 2007 Carolina League baseball season.

At the schools, Rocky and the Blue Rocks front office staff will be interacting with the students while acting out the stories of "Casey at the Bat" and "If You Give A Moose A Muffin." The visitations typically will consist of a 30-minute assembly as Rocky and a Wilmington Blue Rock staff member promote the importance of reading.

Rocky and the Blue Rocks will be challenging students in Delaware and the surrounding states to participate in Rocky's Reading Challenge program, which began in 1994. Students are asked to read 10 books and record them on the bookmarks provided to them by Rocky or their teachers.

Once the students have completed the task of reading 10 books, they are asked to return the bookmark with their name, address, phone number and adult signature to the Blue Rocks. For completing Rocky's Reading Challenge, Rocky will reward them with two tickets to a Blue Rocks game for the 2007 season. Students from all area schools are encouraged to participate.

"Rocky's Reading Challenge provides yet another opportunity for the Wilmington Blue Rocks to invest back into the community," said Blue Rocks Community Relations Director Mark VanderHaar. "We are encouraging 75,000 young readers to complete Rocky's challenge of reading 10 books by rewarding them with tickets to a Blue Rocks game. The free school assembly portion of the Reading Challenge has become so popular that spots quickly fill up the day schools are able to sign up. It goes to show you that after almost 15 years, Rocky Bluewinkle is still one popular cat, or moose."

Below is the schedule of upcoming school appearances for January and February:

Date, Time School City, State

Mon, Jan. 29, 1:30 PM Learning Express Academy Newark, DE

Tue, Jan 30, 10:00 AM Silver Lake Elementary Middletown, DE

Tue, Jan 30, 2:00 PM Brick Mill Elementary Middletown, DE

Tue, Jan 30, 2:45 PM Brick Mill Elementary Middletown, DE

Wed, Jan. 31, 9:30 AM Nottingham Elementary Oxford, PA

Wed, Jan. 31, 10:15 AM Nottingham Elementary Oxford, PA

Thr, Feb. 1, 8:00 AM Pilot School Library Wilmington, DE

Thr, Feb. 1, 9:45 AM Linwood Elementary Linwood, PA

Fri, Feb. 2, 10:00 AM Marcus Hook Elementary Marcus Hook, PA

Fri, Feb. 2, 1:00 PM Valley Park Elementary Pennsville, NJ

Tue, Feb. 6, 10:30 AM Covenant Preschool Wilmington, DE

Tue, Feb. 6, 1:15 PM St. Joseph School Aston, PA

Wed, Feb. 7, 9:30 AM Holly Hall Elementary Elkton, MD

Wed, Feb. 7, 10:15 AM Holly Hall Elementary Elkton, MD

Wed, Feb. 7, 2:00 PM Olive B. Loss Elementary 1st grade Bear, DE

Thr, Feb. 8, 10:00 AM New Castle Christian Academy New Castle, DE

Thr, Feb. 8, 1:00 PM St. Anthony of Padua Grade School Wilmington, DE

Mon, Feb. 12, 10:15 AM St. Thomas the Apostle Glen Mills, PA

Mon, Feb. 12, 1:30 PM SS Peter & Paul School West Chester, PA

Wed, Feb. 14, 9:45 AM St. Katherine of Siena Wayne, PA

Wed, Feb. 14, 1:00 PM Nativity BVM School Media, PA

For the complete list of appearances, visit our website, bluerocks.com.

To register a school or for more information about Rocky's Reading Challenge, Rocky's School Visitations or any of the Wilmington Blue Rocks community relations programs, please contact Mark VanderHaar at (302) 888-2558. If media outlets are interested in accompanying Rocky Bluewinkle on a scheduled school appearance, please contact John Sadak at (302) 888-2585.

The Blue Rocks home opener for the 2007 Carolina League season takes place at Frawley Stadium on Friday, April 13 at 7:05 p.m. against the Salem Avalanche. For ticket information, visit www.bluerocks.com or call (302) 888-BLUE.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Carolina League Stories from January 31, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central