Dayton Dragons players and one of the team's mascots, Heater, will visit four Clark County elementary school classrooms today and tomorrow. The visits are part of the Dragons MVP program. An initiative developed by the minor league baseball team to help it better connect with local communities.
Tom Nichols of the Dayton Dragons, says the MVP Program, is an educational tool for fourth and fifth grade teachers around the Miami Valley area, that helps them motivate and reward students for success in and out of the classroom.
Selected students and their families are given tickets to Dragons games and have a chance to throw out the first pitch or spend time in the broadcast booth.
Today, two Dragons players will be joined by Heater the mascot on visits to Snyder Park Elementary in Springfield and the New Carlisle Elementary School. Tomorrow they will visit Springfield's Horace Mann and Lagonda Elementary schools.
Nichols says during their visit, the players will introduce themselves to the students, answer questions, sign autographs and take pictures. Each student will also receive a Dragons cap and pen.
This is the sixth season for the Dragons MVP program. More than 850 classrooms and 26,000 students participated last year.