MOOSIC, PA (June 17, 2026) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are thrilled to announce the results of CHAMP’s Home Run Readers, a new 2026 program presented by Red Robin. Over the course of March, 4,784 students participated in CHAMP’S Home Run Readers, amassing a total of 3,537,740 minutes read.
“You cannot be impressed enough by the effort of these local readers,” stated Shawn Reilly, the RailRiders’ Team President & General Manager. “A three-week program with a variety of benchmarks set the goal. These readers took the time to put in the work, and the result was unbelievable. Truly impressive!”
Students were tasked with at-home reading from March 2 through 22. This included school curriculum books, self-chosen books, and both digital and print materials. Minutes could also include time for a parent or guardian to read aloud to the student, encouraging family literacy. All students who participated received a certificate. Students who logged 400 to 800 minutes also earned two free tickets to a game on June 9 or 10. Participants who read 800 to 1,300 minutes earned four free tickets to one of those games. Students who read 1,300 or more minutes also earned a free t-shirt and the opportunity to join their fellow readers on-field for a simultaneous first pitch, which had students lined up around PNC Field on both nights, upwards of 250-plus readers per night throwing to their parent or guardian.
Elena Bartron was the top overall reader, recording 13,097 minutes read. She received an autographed baseball and threw a ceremonial first pitch on June 10.
Tunkhannock Area Intermediate Center logged the most student participation of any area school.
“The RailRiders reading incentive program was a huge hit!” said Jaime LaChase, who served as the program coordinator for Tunkhannock Area Intermediate Center. “Our students were engaged in reading and worked so hard to accomplish the goals set by the RailRiders’ team. It was such a great way to get our students reading! Our school had 313 of 750 students participate and read well over 300,000 minutes. We look forward to doing this program again next year.”
For more information on all of the RailRiders’ efforts in the community, please visit www.swbrailriders.com.