Lacrosse’s biggest stars will be in town this weekend but not just for the 2004 National Lacrosse League (NLL) All-Star game.  They will be showcasing their talents in the community as well.  Before the action begins on Sunday, several members of the NLL All-Star team will join over 30 Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE) employees to kick-off its new employee volunteer program entitled KSE C.A.R.E (Community Assists Reflect Excellence). 

The players and employees will tutor students at Cole Middle School, 3240 Humboldt Street in Denver, Saturday, Feb. 21 at 9:00 a.m.  The volunteers will coach the students in math and reading for approximately two hours to help the students prepare for the CSAP tests in March. 

In 2003, Cole Middle School was listed as unsatisfactory among Denver Public Schools for its CSAP test scores.  The DPS Superintendent, several business leaders, and the Mayor joined forces in January and have been tutoring the students every Saturday over the last six weeks in the hopes of improving test scores.  Originally, the school hoped that at least 50 of the 370 students would show up for the tutoring program.  In actuality, over 140 students have attended each of the sessions. 

“KSE believes that working together and actively participating in the community is beneficial for everyone.  We are excited to launch our new KSE C.A.R.E volunteer program, especially at Cole Middle School and be part of this educational initiative.  We really hope we can help the students improve their CSAP scores.  Having members of the NLL All-Star team participate on Saturday is not only special for us but a unique opportunity, and hopefully an extra incentive, for the students,” says Deb Dowling Canino, vice president of community relations for KSE.

The NLL All-Star players will be distributing tickets and signing autographs for each student that attends on Saturday.  In addition, KSE is providing Nuggets tickets for those students who attend all eight sessions.

Media note: In an effort to minimize the amount of disruption in the classrooms, we respectively ask that any interested media arrive at 10:45 a.m. Visits to tutoring sessions will be allowed during the last 15 minutes of the morning classes.

For more information, please contact Kirstin Gerety, 303-405-1324 or 303-901-2671.