Tri-City ValleyCats Host First Ever Education Day

TROY, NY June 16 -The Tri City ValleyCats will host its first ever Education Day at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on Tuesday, June 17 at 10 a.m. to support the organization's mission to create "Fans for Life" in a safe and clean environment.

The ValleyCats created a curriculum that includes character development and anti-
bullying facets, as well as traditional educational subject matter as it relates to the game of baseball. This curriculum was available online to schools throughout the Capital Region this spring and will culminate in an all-encompassing educational field trip when the ValleyCats host the Lowell Spinners.

The ValleyCats existing "Strike Out Bullying" program, with BlueShield of Northeastern New York, focuses on educating students about the importance of treating others equally and standing up for their peers. This has included in-school assemblies and students attending Education Day will be encouraged to recite the ValleyCats "Peace Pledge" as a part of the day's curriculum.

"We are very excited to host this first-time event at the stadium," Assistant General Manager Matt Callahan said. "Our team has tried to create an event where students have the opportunity to learn outside of the classroom, spend time with peers and enjoy an educational day at the ballpark."

Additional activities will provide students with real world applications in the areas of mathematics, history and geography. Several local organizations have supported this initiative and helped make these field trips possible for Capital Region schools. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is a lead partner for the Education Day event and supports educational opportunities throughout the area.

"At Regeneron, we are committed to a better future," a Regeneron representative said. "This promise is at the core of our mission to discover and develop new medicines, which allows us to deliver greater value to our patients, employees and communities. We believe that education, particularly science, technology, engineering and math is a key component to this development. As such, we are proud to support the ValleyCats first annual Education Day."

Additional support was provided by Transfinder in support of Schenectady schools and St. Peter's Health Partners' Sexual Assault & Crime Victims Assistance Program in a partnership with several Rensselaer County Schools.