By Pat Brown
Sharksahl.com Staff

Worcester, Mass. - On Monday the Worcester Sharks Community Outreach Team along with Goaltender Nolan Schaefer visited the Frances Perkins Branch of the Worcester Public Library. The group was there to showcase the importance of reading at an early age. The attendees were children, ranging in age from three to seven years old and were accompanied by their parents. The children surrounded Schaefer, dressed in his hockey jersey, as he read handpicked sports books to them. As he mesmerized the kids with his story-teller voice, he paused frequently to point out important life lessons intertwined within the stories, such as “cheaters never win” and “never give up.”

All in attendance were given the chance to talk with the goaltender and their parents were permitted to take photographs of their children with Schaefer. In addition, each child received special Sharks merchandise, a Sharks tattoo and a personalized autograph from Nolan Schaefer. The event was free of charge and open to the public.

This event comes just as the Sharks prepare to launch our Reading is Cool program. The Sharks take the issue of literacy seriously. Forty percent of America's fourth graders cannot read as well as they should. The Sharks Reading is Cool program is directed at children in grades K-3. Crash the Net at www.sharksahl.com in the upcoming weeks for additional information and important links to signing up for the program.