Royals Staff and Employees Set to ROAR in Reading Community

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, today announced that the organization has initiated a community service program known as “Royals Out Assisting Reading” (“ROAR”) under which each member of the organization—staff, management and employees—will be granted forty hours of paid leave over the upcoming year to participate in efforts to assist local non-profit organizations in the Reading community.

“Our organization is thrilled to formalize this program to encourage our employees to expand their personal participation with non-profit organizations and their efforts in our community,” said Royals’ President Drew Bell. “Since the team’s inception in 2001, the Royals have been a very important part of the fabric of the Greater Reading region. Last season alone, we generated and donated over $250,000 worth of cash and goods to charitable organizations in our community. This year, we anticipate growing our donations through our Community Series games and other charitable efforts including the appearances of our players and mascot throughout the region. The ROAR Program seeks to further expand our team’s engagement with the community, encouraging meaningful participation for each person who works in our organization. I’m proud to say that our employees have expressed not only a willingness to participate in this community-based charitable effort, but also a genuine excitement to do so.”

Under the new “ROAR” program, Royals staff and management members will have the opportunity to select local charitable organizations with whom they would like to work. The team will also have a series of scheduled volunteer events with organizations like the Greater Reading Food Bank, Hope Rescue Mission, Habitat for Humanity among others. The team will continue the historical efforts which, in the sixteen year history of the team, are estimated to have raised and donated over $2.5 million of cash and goods to local non-profit organizations in the Reading community. As previously announced, this season’s efforts will include a six-game Community Series, including Veterans Day (November 12), the Night of Hope (November 26), the Teddy Bear Toss Night (December 10), the Penn State University THON Celebration (January 21), Pink in the Rink (February 18), and our Autism Awareness Night (March 4) dedicated to local non-profits. Additionally, team’s players and mascots—and particularly Slapshot—will continue to pursue an ever-expanding schedule of appearances at local schools, organizations and events.

Season Sixteen of “Hometown Hockey” kicks off for the Royals on Saturday, October 15, (7:00 pm) when the Elmira Jackals visit Santander Arena. Season Tickets for the Royals’ 2016-17 ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

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