Bears Get “Back to Football” Bears Share

Bears Get “Back to Football”
Leading up to fir st game of the season on
Sunday, September 1 2 , the Bear s encour aged fans acr oss the Chicago ar ea to show
their passion for their hometown team
thr ough a ser ies of events that wer e par t of
the Bear s fir st ever "Back to Football W eek"
campaign, which was br ought to you by the
Chicago Tr ibune, Toyota and Univer sity of
Phoenix.
I N T H I S I S S U E:
Back-to-School Fair
Youth Football @ Bears Family
Night and USA Football Night
Community Events @ Bears
Training Camp in Bourbonnais
2 2 nd Annual Chicago Bears/
Jewel-Osco “Coat Drive”
Real Bears Fans W ear Pink
Bears School Outreach
M idtown 5 K Run & W alk
Honor Flight Chicago
Bear Appétit
Tales to Tackle
Hello to Our Heroes
Hispanic Heritage M onth
On M onday, September 6 , Bear s season
ticket holder s, business par tner s and memIsrael Idonije joined M ayor Daley at W ells
ber
s of the U.S. militar y gather ed in the W alCommunity Academy High School to formally
ter Payton Center in Lake For est for a live
welcome students back to school.
br oadcast of Bear s Insider that featur ed
Head Coach Lovie Smith, Gener al M anager
Jerry Angelo and Pr esident and CEO Ted Phillips.
The Bear s ―Back to School-Back to Football‖ event took place on Tuesday, September 7
when 1 1 Bear s player s—including Anthony Adams, Devin Aromashodu, Zack Bowman,
Josh Bullocks, Tommie Harris, Israel Idonije, Lance Louis, Danieal M anning, D.J. M oore,
Nick Roach and Corey W ootton—visited1 0 differ ent Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to welcome students on the fir st day of classes in suppor t of the CPS Back to School campaign.
These visits suppor ted M ayor Richard M . Daley’s annual tr adition of visiting a Chicago Public
School on the fir st day of classes to welcome students and encour age attendance. Har r is
and Idonije joined M ayor Daley at W illiam H. W ells Community Academy High School to
gr eet and speak with students as they ar r ived at school.
At Cubby Bear Nor th in Lincolnshir e on Thur sday, September 9 , hundr eds of fans tur ned
out to see Tommie Harris and Israel Idonije dur ing a live br oadcast of Bear s All-Access,
which was br ought to you by Spor ts Author ity.
Fr iday’s ―Back to Football‖ r ally br ought thousands of Bear s fans to Daley Plaza and featur ed giveaways, inter active games, alumni autogr aphs, a chance to win tickets to the Bear s home opener , a live pr ogr am featur ing
Jeff Joniak and Tom Thayer , and mor e! Fans not able to attend the r ally wer e encour aged to wear their Bear s
gear to wor k as par t of their office’s casual Fr iday attir e.
"Back to Football W eek" festivities culminated on Sunday, September 1 2 when the Bear s defeated the Detr oit
Lions at Soldier Field. The Chicago Bear s or ganization thanks all Bear s fans who par ticipated in Back to Football W eek.
Bears Share
Bear s season ticket holder s unable to attend a Bear s home game may donate tickets to Special Olympics Illinois thr ough our Bear s Shar e ticket donation pr ogr am. This pr ogr am gives Special Olympics athletes and volunteer s the oppor tunity to exper ience a game. The season ticket holder r eceives a tax deduction for the donation of the tickets. Tickets should be r eceived at the following addr ess no later than three business days pr ior
to the scheduled game: Special Olympics Illinois, c/ o Bears Share Ticket Donation, 8 0 0 Roosevelt Road; Building B, Suite 2 2 0 , Glen Ellyn, IL 6 0 1 3 7 -5 8 6 0 .
Back-to-School Fair
On Satur day, July 3 1 , Bear s Car e, Catholic Char ities—Diocese of Joliet, and Team
Smile hosted a Back-t o-School Fair on the campus of Olivet Nazar ene Univer sity dur ing the fir st day of Bear s Tr aining Camp for near ly 1 ,0 0 0 deser ving childr en fr om
the Kankakee ar ea. Over for ty local social ser vice agencies par ticipated and pr ovided
infor mation and fr ee ser vices such as vision testing, diabetes scr eening, EKG testing
and hair cuts to those in attendance.
Team Smile, led my founder Dr . Bill Busch, offer ed a wide ar r ay of state-of-the-ar t
dental tr eatments onsite to the kids fr ee of char ge, including fillings, extr actions and
Team Smile doctors saw hundreds of young
r oot canals. DJ Kir by pr ovided lively music and videos to enter tain the cr owd, and
patients during the Back-to-School Fair.
pr ize giveaways, face painter s and games added to the festive mood. The Fair also
featur ed visits fr om M ichael M cCaskey, George M cCaskey, Brian M cCaskey, Head
Coach Lovie Smith, Staley da Bear, and sever al Chicago Bear s player s, including Anthony Adams, Rashied Davis, Tommie Harris,
Israel Idonije, Brad M aynard and D.J. M oore. Guests wer e also tr eated to a visit by the r eigning M iss Illinois, W hitney Thor peKlinsky, an aspir ing optometr ist, who per for med sever al eye exams and signed autogr aphs for the kids and par ents in attendanc e.
As the childr en depar ted, they each r eceived a box containing their school supplies for the upcoming year and a healthy lunch !
Bear s Car e is the char itable beneficiar y of the Chicago Bear s Football Club.
For mor e infor mation about Bear s Car e, please visit www.ChicagoBears.com/ BearsCare.
Bears Family Night
Football was in the air on a per fect summer evening on Fr iday, August 6 when the
Bear s hosted our annual Comcast Bear s Family Night pr esented by Chase at Soldier
Field. Over 2 5 ,0 0 0 excited fans tur ned out to catch an ear ly glimpse of their favor ite
team dur ing a full-squad pr actice complete with fir ewor ks and star ting line-ups. Some
of the night’s festivities included the Kids’ Inter active Zone, live music, and a chance for
a few select fans to visit the sidelines following pr actice to r eceive a signed authentic
pr actice jer sey fr om a Bear s player .
Pr ior to pr actice, over 2 0 0 youth football player s fr om Chicago Bear s Youth Football
Camps, United Neighbor hood Or ganization (UNO), and the Chicago Par k Distr ict’s Inner
City Flag and Junior Bear Tackle pr ogr ams par ticipated in on-field demonstr ations.
To see pictur es fr om Comcast Bear s Family Night pr esented by Chase, check out the
photo galler ies on ChicagoBear s.com by clicking here.
Players from the CPD’s Junior Bear
Tackle league showed off their skills
prior to Family Night at Soldier Field.
USA Football Day
The Chicago Bear s celebr ated ―USA Football Day‖ on Satur day, August 2 8 when the
Bear s took on the Ar izona Car dinals at Soldier Field in pr e-season action. As par t of
the festivities, the Bear s donated hundr eds of tickets to youth football player s
thr oughout the Chicago ar ea and encour aged them to wear their team jer seys to the
game.
Pr ior to kick-off, player s fr om the Boys & Gir ls Clubs of Chicago’s Bear s After -School
Flag Football pr ogr am for med a tunnel for Bear s player s to r un thr ough dur ing star tThe Bears celebrated “USA Football Day” at ing line-ups, and teams fr om the Chicago Par k Distr ict’s Junior Bear Tackle Football
league joined Bear s player s on the sidelines for the National Anthem. ―USA Football
Soldier Field on August 2 8 , 2 0 1 0 .
Day‖ activities also included player s fr om the Academy of Ur ban School Leader ship’s
youth football pr ogr am who assisted in holding the 4 th Phase Flag dur ing team intr oductions and a youth football demonstr ation dur ing halftime pr ovided by the Junior Bear Tackle Football league.
These activities wer e components of the Chicago Bear s suppor t of USA Football M onth. 2 0 1 0 mar ked the seventh consecutive
year the NFL and USA Football have teamed up to celebr ate the star t of football season with this gr eat initiative. The goal of USA
Football M onth is to honor and salute the millions of boys and gir ls who par ticipate in youth football pr ogr ams acr oss the countr y
and to also pr omote the spor t and the intr insic values gained fr om par ticipation. For mor e infor mation about USA Football M o nth
please visit www.USAFootball.com.
Training Camp Happenings
The Chicago Bear s wer e excited to host sever al special gr oups fr om differ ent Chicago
ar ea or ganizations dur ing Tr aining Camp in Bour bonnais this summer .
On Satur day, July 3 1 the Bear s held a camp for the National Spor ts Center for the
Disabled wher e 1 0 0 childr en fr om acr oss the state of Illinois par ticipated in a football
skills clinic. After an hour of har d wor k, the kids and their families had the oppor tunity
to stay and watch pr actice fr om their own pr ivate seating ar ea.
The Bear s celebr ated Hispanic Day at Tr aining Camp on Sunday, August 1 and invited
childr en and their families associated with United Neighbor hood Or ganization (UNO)
down to Bour bonnais for the after noon. After par ticipating in Gator ade Junior Tr aining
Camp, the gr oup enjoyed watching the team pr actice. Bear s Car e, the char itable beneficiar y of the Chicago Bear s, also pr esented a $ 2 0 ,0 0 0 gr ant to UNO for suppor t of the
UNO Char ter School Networ k Co-ed Flag Football League.
A youngster from UNO sharpened his
skills at Gatorade Junior Training Camp.
On Tuesday, August 3 the Bear s wer e happy to welcome athletes fr om Special Olympics Illinois. The athletes viewed the Bear s
2 0 0 9 highlights tape befor e wor king on their own football skills at Gator ade Junior Tr aining Camp wher e they wer e put thr ough
dr ills and a football-based obstacle cour se. After war ds, they headed over to eat lunch and watch pr actice fr om their pr ivate se ating
ar ea. Following pr actice, the athletes wer e thr illed to r eceive a visit fr om sever al Bear s player s as well as Head Coach Lovie Smith.
Over 7 0 childr en and their families fr om the Star light Childr en’s Foundation wer e guests
of the Bear s dur ing evening pr actice on W ednesday, August 4 . The gr oup had a special visit fr om Staley da Bear after pr actice and also met Coach Smith and sever al
Bear s player s following pr actice. The Star light Childr en’s Foundation is dedicated to
impr oving the quality of life for childr en with chr onic and life-thr eatening illnesses and life
-alter ing injur ies by pr oviding enter tainment, education and family activities that help
them cope with the pain, fear and isolation of pr olonged illness. For mor e infor mation
about the Star light Childr en’s Foundation, please visit www.starlight.org.
Thur sday, August 1 2 was ―Youth Football Day‖ at Bear s Tr aining Camp. Youth football
player s and cheer leader s wer e encour aged to wear their team jer seys or t -shir ts and
stop by the ―Youth Football Day‖ booth for a chance to win cool pr izes like tickets to a
Bear s pr e-season game, autogr aphed memor abilia, and Bear s fan packages. As par t
Assistant Special Teams coach Chris
Tabor posed for a photo with the lucky of the day’s festivities, the Bear s also hosted over 6 0 youth football player s fr om the
Chicago Par k Distr ict’s ―Junior Bear Tackle‖ youth football league. The player s' toughrecipient of a new bicycle.
ness was put to the test by the swelter ing August heat, but in the end they agr eed it
was wor th it when over 1 5 Bear s player s—including M att Forte, Chester Taylor and
Garrett W olfe, to name a few—stopped by after pr actice to visit and sign autogr aphs.
On Thur sday, August 1 9 , Coach Smith and his entir e coaching staff continued a tr adition of community spir it by donating bicycles to
near ly 2 5 deser ving childr en fr om the Bour bonnais/ Kankakee ar ea following the Bear s after noon pr actice. The bikes wer e used by
the coaching staff to get ar ound the Olivet Nazar ene Univer sity campus thr oughout Tr aining Camp. The Kankakee County Sher iff ’s
Depar tment and Illinois State Police wor ked with the Bear s to help identify the wor thy youngster s.
Symetra “Heroes in the Classroom”
The Chicago Bear s and Symetr a Financial have par tner ed to sponsor the Symetr a ―Her oes in the
Classr oom‖ pr ogr am. Pr esented locally by Gallagher Benefit Ser vices, the pr ogr am r ecognizes
Chicago ar ea teacher s for outstanding leader ship and instr uctional skills.
Sixteen K-1 2 teacher s will be named a Symetr a ―Her o in the Classr oom‖ dur ing the 2 0 1 0 Bear s
season. Each winning teacher will be r ecognized with a sur pr ise pr esentation at their school,
wher e they will r eceive a $ 1 ,0 0 0 donation for classr oom books and supplies, along with tickets to
a 2 0 1 0 Bear s home game.
For mor e infor mation or to nominate a teacher , please visit www.ChicagoBears.com/ community/
HeroesintheClassroom.asp.
2 2 nd Annual Chicago Bears/ Jewel-Osco “Coat Drive”
The star t of the 2 2 nd Annual Chicago Bear s/ Jewel-Osco ―Coat Dr ive‖ was announced
dur ing a pr ess confer ence at Halas Hall on M onday, September 1 3 . Kicker Robbie
Gould and wide r eceiver Johnny Knox wer e in attendance, along with r epr esentatives
fr om Jewel-Osco, The Salvation Ar my and W m. M eyer s M over s.
The 2 2 nd Annual Bears/ Jewel-Osco
“Coat Drive” began on September 7 .
New and gently used coats can be donated at all Jewel-Osco locations thr oughout Chicagoland fr om September 7 , 2 0 1 0 thr ough December 4 , 2 0 1 0 . A stadium collection
will take place on Sunday, October 2 4 at Soldier Field pr ior to the Bear s vs. Redskins
game. Volunteer s will be stationed at entr ance gates to collect coats fr om gener ous
fans as they enter the stadium. A stor e locator is available at www.JewelOsco.com.
Thousands of coats will be collected this year as par t of the 2 2 nd Annual Chicago
Bear s/ Jewel-Osco "Coat Dr ive" benefiting The Salvation Ar my and public schools in the
Chicagoland ar ea. Thank you for your suppor t and gener osity!
Real Bears Fans W ear Pink
The ―Real Bear s Fans W ear Pink‖ t -shir t campaign is back for its thir d consecutive year
with a new design, chosen by Bear s fans. The exclusive ―Real Bear s Fans W ear Pink‖ t shir ts ar e $ 2 0 and available for pur chase online at www.events.org/ pink. Fans ar e encour aged to wear the shir ts to the Bear s vs. Seahawks game on Sunday, October 1 7 ,
when Bear s Car e, the Chicago Bear s and Nor thShor e Univer sity HealthSystem will r ecognize National Br east Cancer Awar eness month. The goal is to have fans thr oughout
the stadium, or wher ever they may be watching the game, wear ing their ―Real Bear s
Fans W ear Pink‖ t -shir ts to show their suppor t for the cause. All pr oceeds will benefit
Bear s Car e, the char itable beneficiar y of the Chicago Bear s. The success of the campaign dur ing its fir st two year s has allowed Bear s Car e to distr ibute over $ 1 6 0 ,0 0 0 to or ganizations in the Chicagoland ar ea that
pr ovide car e, assistance and suppor t ser vices to br east cancer patients and their families.
Bears School Outreach
Each Tuesday dur ing the football season, Bear s player s will visit Chicago Public Schools
to speak to, motivate, and inter act with students as par t of the Bear s School Outr each
pr ogr am, which is br ought to you by the Univer sity of Phoenix, the Official Education
Par tner of the Chicago Bear s. The theme for player visits is char acter development,
goal setting, commitment to excellence, and the impor tance of leading a healthy, active
lifestyle. Tight end Desmond Clark and tackle Frank Omiyale kicked-off the pr ogr am on
Tuesday, September 1 4 when they visited Jor dan Community School. Running back
Garrett W olfe visited Or r Academy High School on Tuesday, September 2 1 wher e he
spoke with senior s about the impor tance of continuing their education. Twenty-two
Garrett W olfe spoke to students at Orr
Bear s player s ar e scheduled to appear at 1 9 differ ent schools thr oughout the 2 0 1 0
Academy High School students in support
football season. The Bear s School Outr each Pr ogr am is in its 1 3 th season and benefits
of Bears School Outreach.
mor e than 5 ,0 0 0 students annually.
M idtown 5 K Run & W alk
Kicker Robbie Gould and Bear s mascot Staley hosted a Football/ Fitness Camp for boys
and gir ls ages 6 -1 4 at M idtown Athletic Center in Palatine on Tuesday, September 1 4 .
Robbie led over 5 0 kids thr ough a var iety of exer cises using the innovative HOPSpor ts
Tr aining System, which is a component of M idwest Dair y Association’s ―Fuel Up to Play
6 0 ‖ pr ogr am. Robbie also par ticipated in a Q & A with some ver y cur ious youngster s
and signed autogr aphs following the fitness clinic. This event ser ved as the official kickoff to the 8 th Annual M idtown 5 K Run & W alk, which took place on Satur day, September 2 5 . Pr oceeds fr om the r ace benefited Bear s Car e, the char itable beneficiar y of the
Chicago Bear s.
Robbie Gould hosted a Football/ Fitness
Clinic at M idtown Athletic Club.
Honor Flight Chicago
Honor Flight Chicago is a 5 0 1 c3 non-pr ofit or ganization that was founded in 2 0 0 8 to r ecognize our
Veter ans—most specifically our W W II Veter ans—with a day of honor , r emembr ance and celebr ation
fr om a pr oud and gr ateful nation. Since inception, Honor Flight Chicago has take over 1 ,2 9 0 veter ans
on all-expenses paid tr ips to see the W or ld W ar II M emor ial in W ashington, D.C.
The following is an inter view conducted by Bear s Vice Chair man, George H. M cCaskey, with W W II Veter an Char les J. Sauber after he r etur ned fr om his Honor Flight tr ip in July:
W hen Chuck Sauber hear d about W or ld W ar II veter ans going on an all-expenses paid tr ip to W ashington, D.C., he didn’t need much convincing.
―A couple of people told me that they had gone on it, and they thought it was wonder ful,‖ he said. ―So,
[my son] Jim thought it would be a good thing if he signed me up.‖
Charles J. Sauber,
circa 1 9 4 4
Sauber and some ninety other veter ans visited the National W or ld W ar II memor ial on July 1 4 as guests
of Honor Flight Chicago. The all-volunteer or ganization’s mission is to fly as many local veter ans to see the memor ial built in their
honor . Each veter an is accompanied by a ―guar dian‖ – usually a family member – who pays his or her own way.
Char les J. ―Chuck‖ Sauber , now 9 0 , fought in the Philippines with the United States Ar my’s 3 2 nd Infantr y Division, oper ating a
Br owning Automatic Rifle. He points out that ther e ar e many things about war that you’r e ―happy to for get.‖ But he vividly r ecalls
the day his ser vice ended, and he was r eunited with his wife, Lor r aine.
―The happiest day of my whole life was the day that I had my dischar ge, and [with] my backpack on my shoulder , walked out the door
and saw an absolutely beautiful per son who I had missed for many, many months,‖ he said. ―I thought I might be having a hear t
attack, it was such an extr aor dinar y, tr emendous, wonder ful feeling to see her .‖
Sixty-five year s later , at the W or ld W ar II memor ial on the National M all, Sauber
thought of those who did not r etur n fr om the war .
―W hen I saw that ther e wer e mor e than four thousand gold star s ther e, and [each star ]
r epr esented a hundr ed differ ent people that had sacr ificed their life in W or ld W ar II, it
almost made you feel ashamed of your self for sur viving,‖ he said. ―It made me feel like
I owed a lot to the people that we lost.‖
W hile Sauber says the mor e than 4 0 0 ,0 0 0 Amer ican ser vice per sonnel who died in the
war ar e the r eal her oes, he and the other veter ans on the Honor Flight r eceived a her oes’ welcome when they r etur ned to Chicago’s M idway Air por t. Hundr eds of wellwisher s tur ned out to cheer them and thank them for their ser vice. Sauber , a life-long
Charles Sauber is welcomed home by two
r esident of the village of Vir gil and father of sixteen childr en, had a lar ge contingent of
of his great-grandchildren, 1 1 -year-old
fr iends and family awaiting his r etur n. For him, that was the most memor able par t of
Dominick Hartke (left), and nine-year-old the tr ip.
Jake Theisen, upon his return from
―Ther e wer e so many people ther e and they wer e so enthusiastic,‖ he said. ―[I] just
W ashington, D.C.
couldn’t believe that so many of them showed up. M y one gr anddaughter dr ove all the
way fr om M ichigan to be ther e. She was her e with me and when the cer emony was
over she dr ove back to M ichigan. That was gr atifying.‖
Ther e is a waiting list of mor e than 1 ,3 0 0 Chicago-ar ea veter ans who have signed up, hoping to make the tr ip to W ashington, D.C.
Their aver age age is estimated to be 8 8 year s old. Honor Flight Chicago is a 5 0 1 (c)(3 ) non -pr ofit or ganization. For mor e infor mation, see: www.honorflightchicago.org. Tax-deductible contr ibutions can be made online or sent to: Honor Flight Chicago, 9 3 8 W .
M ontana, Chicago, IL, 6 0 6 1 4 .
Bear Appétit is Back!
For the second consecutive year , Bear s Car e, the char itable beneficiar y of the Chicago
Bear s, will host ―Bear Appétit,‖ an exciting event featur ing some of Chicago's finest cuisine. The event will take place on M onday, November 1 at W ildfir e Chicago and will
showcase specialties fr om var ious Lettuce Enter tain You r estaur ants, with appear ances
by cur r ent and for mer Chicago Bear s player s and samplings of fine wines. Pr oceeds benefit Bear s Car e, which is pr oud to supp or t
the Chicago Police M emor ial Foundation. Tickets ar e on sale now and available at www.events.org/ bearapp. Space is limited.
For additional infor mation about the event or inquir ies r elating to event sponsor ship, please call (8 4 7 ) 7 3 9 -5 3 2 5 .
Tales to Tackle
Calling all teacher s! For the seventh consecutive year , the Chicago Bear s have par tner ed with
ComEd to pr esent the ―Tales to Tackle‖ r eading incentive pr ogr am. The goal of this pr ogr am,
gear ed towar d 6 th, 7 th, and 8 th gr ader s, is for students to r ead thr ee teacher -appr oved books
per month. The main component of ―Tales to Tackle‖ is a r eading notebook that featur es pictur es
of Bear s player s, includes a list of suggested books and has plenty of space for students to wr ite
book r epor ts. This notebook allows the students to keep tr ack of the books that they r ead dur ing
the pr ogr am. Ever y child who achieves the goal of r eading thr ee books per month for the thr ee
month per iod will be enter ed into a r andom dr awing for the chance to win a special ―Bear s Exper ience‖ at Halas Hall in Lake For est. ―Tales to Tackle‖ will begin in October and r un thr ough December . Please contact the Community Relations Depar tment at (8 4 7 ) 7 3 9 -5 3 0 8 if you ar e a teacher
inter ested in intr oducing the pr ogr am to your students.
Hello to Our Heroes
Cor ner back D.J. M oore spent time visiting with U.S. militar y veter ans who ar e patients
at Nor th Chicago VA M edical Center on Tuesday, September 2 8 . The visit ser ved as
the kick off to the 2 0 1 0 Bear s ―Hello to Our Her oes‖ pr ogr am, which is br ought to you
by Staples. This pr ogr am, now in its sixth year , encour ages fans and students to wr ite
letter s to veter ans and member s of the militar y who have r ecently r etur ned fr om ser ving over seas. As par t of the pr ogr am, a Bear s player will visit a local veter ans’ hospital
once a month to distr ibute the letter s and br ighten the spir its of the militar y patients.
Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS), the wor ld’s lar gest office pr oducts company, came to
Chicago with a mission: make life easier for ar ea customer s. Staples is making good
on that mission by teaming up with the Chicago Bear s for the ―Hello to Our Her oes‖ pr ogr am. For mor e infor mation on how you can be involved in the ―Hello to Our Her oes‖
pr ogr am, please visit www.ChicagoBears.com/ community.
D.J. M oore visited with patients at North
Chicago VA M edical Center in support of
the “Hello to Our Heroes” program.
Hispanic Heritage M onth
The Chicago Bear s r ecognized Hispanic Her itage M onth (HHM ) with a ser ies of
events dur ing the week of September 2 0 , leading up to the Bear s vs. Packer s
game on M onday, September 2 7 . Hispanic Her itage M onth r uns fr om September
1 5 —October 1 5 and will be celebr ated with var ious initiatives thr oughout the NFL.
To star t the week off, Bear s guar d Rober to Gar za appear ed at Clear view Elementar y School in W aukegan on Tuesday, September 2 1 wher e he visited with 1 5 0
students fr om the 3 r d gr ade and Special Education classes. Rober to shar ed his
per sonal stor y and spoke to the gr oup about the impor tance of education and
Los Diablitos talked over their game plan durr eading. The par ticipating students ar e cur r ently enr olled in the United W ay of
ing the NFL Flag Football Regional Tourney.
Lake County’s Reading Success pr ogr am. Reading Success is focused on building
liter acy skills to ensur e all students ar e able to r ead at gr ade level by the end of
3 r d gr ade. Rober to also r ead the book, "Going Home" by Eve Bunting, to the students and autogr aphed the copy that is availab le in
the Clear view school libr ar y.
On Satur day, September 2 6 the Bear s assisted with the NFL Flag Football Regional Tour nament at the W aukegan Par k Distr ict.
NFL Flag Football teams fr om acr oss the M idwest competed in games thr oughout the day, as well as Los Diablitos, champions of
the Gator ade-NFL Tochito flag football pr ogr am in M exico. Los Diablitos finished the tour nament with a r ecor d of 1 -1 , with a team
fr om For t W ayne, IN taking the title and advancing to the NFL Flag Team Championships in Or lando, FL.
Rober to Gar za also visited the Rauner Family YM CA in Chicago on Sunday, September 2 6 in suppor t of HHM and the NFL PLAY 6 0
youth health and fitness campaign. Kids lear ned and developed NFL FLAG football skills and discussed healthy habits. Par tic ipating
youth lear ned about contr ibutions of Hispanic Amer icans in the community and the impor tance of staying active for 6 0 minutes a
day. The Los Diablitos player s par ticipated in the clinic as well and led kids fr om Rauner thr ough a var iety of dr ills.
The Bear s Hispanic Her itage M onth celebr ation culminated at Soldier Field dur ing halftime of the Bear s vs. Packer s game when the
Los Diablitos player s and coaches wer e honor ed for their championship season with an on -field pr esentation.