Phillies players crash surprise assembly at John B. Kelly School

SURPRISE! John B. Kelly School in Philadelphia, one of the area’s top performing schools in the Phanatic About Reading program presented by Xfinity, received a visit from the Phanatic and members of the Phillies.

Students and teachers were treated to an interactive event featuring manager Rob Thomson, who read from The Phillie Phanatic’s London Adventure, while the Phanatic, pitcher Tanner Banks and infielder Otto Kemp acted out the scenes.

Phanatic about reading is a free, incentive-based program that encourages students in grades Pre-K through 8 to read or be read to for a minimum of 15 minutes a day to improve their literacy skills. More than 147,000 students participate in the program.

The assembly is also part of the team’s Winter Tour, featuring numerous community and charitable events with the Phillies.