01/28/2005 7:50 AM - The Kansas City T-Bones are proud to continue the popular T-Bones Reading Program, brought to you by Providence Medical Center and Saint John Hospital.

The cornerstone of the program is a series of school visits by the T-Bones’ manager and former Major-Leaguer, Al Gallagher. In between his baseball careers, Mr. Gallagher received his Master’s degree in education and taught sixth grade for a decade. “We are proud to have Al as our spokesman in this program. Since the program’s inception, thousands of children have enjoyed free minor league baseball games simply as a reward for reading books of their choice,” said T-Bones Vice-President, Adam Ehlert.

The program is simple for all involved: parents, educators and most importantly, children! In a nutshell: children read a number of books, based upon their grade level, record them on the “scorecard” and redeem the scorecard for free T-Bones tickets.

“We support and salute the efforts of Al and the T-Bones in making reading a priority for children,” said Jim Paquette, Providence Health CEO. “The Providence Health Service League has been at the forefront in providing free books to our new mothers and fathers in our Family Care Center as a way to promote early reading. Our continued sponsorship of this program is an outgrowth of what we are already doing at the hospital.”

Materials will be mailed to all participating schools. Scorecards can also be picked up at Providence Medical Center (Information Desks and Marketing/Volunteer Services Department), Saint John Hospital (Administration and Marketing/Volunteer Services Department) and at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, home of the T-Bones. Completed scorecards should be mailed to or dropped off at the stadium box office, where they can be redeemed for tickets.

Call Al Gallagher at the T-Bones (913-328-2255) to request materials or schedule your school visit.

Click here to download a student card for the reading program.