Red Wings Forward Teemu Pulkkinen to Visit Hiller Elementary on Wednesday
DETROIT - Red Wings forward Teemu Pulkkinen will visit Hiller Elementary in Madison Heights on Wednesday, Nov. 4, as part of the Detroit Red Wings School Assembly Program sponsored by the Detroit Red Wings Foundation, Michigan Education Savings Program and The Kroger Company of Michigan. The program will take place from 2:15 – 3:15 p.m. in the school's gymnasium.
Pulkkinen and the Red Wings School Assembly Team will introduce elementary students to the sport of hockey through a youth street and floor hockey initiative. The Wings will provide equipment and hands-on instruction to familiarize kids with the sport of hockey and to encourage an active and healthy lifestyle.
The School Assembly Team opens every program with an interactive lesson on exercise, healthy eating, college savings and the growing issue of bullying, followed by an energetic hockey shootout competition pitting students against teachers.
Each school receives two full sets of floor hockey equipment complete with hockey sticks and nets courtesy of the Detroit Red Wings Foundation. In addition, every student receives a Red Wings folder from the Detroit Red Wings Foundation, an informational brochure on college savings strategies, courtesy of Michigan Education Savings Program, and a healthy eating cookbook from the Kroger Company of Michigan.
Now in its sixth year, the Red Wings School Assembly Team has visited 543 local schools, reaching more than 271,000 students and providing 1,086 sets of equipment to physical education departments throughout southeastern Michigan. So far this season, the Red Wings School Assembly Team has visited 38 schools and reached more than 14,000 students. Notable players and alumni such as Pavel Datsyuk, Niklas Kronwall, Jimmy Howard, Justin Abdelkader Drew Miller, Danny DeKeyser, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby and Chris Osgood have each attended an assembly.
A special fundraising initiative administered by the Red Wings School Assembly Program has helped local students raise more than $185,000 since 2011 for a variety of charitable endeavors.
This season, the Red Wings School Assembly Team plans to make 115 appearances. The most up-to-date schedule can be found at www.DetroitRedWings.com/SchoolAssemblyProgram.