Red Sox Kid Nation Members Get Up Close and Personal With Jonathan Papelbon

    BOSTON, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The Boston Red Sox and HP Hood today
 welcomed more than 30 members of Red Sox Kid Nation to Fenway Park for a
 baseball clinic with all-star relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon.
     The Kid Nation clinic participants were chosen at random from the
 12,000-plus-member fan club, which is composed of children from all 50
 states and 11 different countries. Their day at Fenway started with lunch
 and was followed by an hour-long on-field baseball tip session with
 Papelbon.
     "This is what it's all about-hanging with our young fans, talking about
 baseball," said Papelbon. "It's awesome that Hood and the Red Sox have
 created this fan club just for kids and given them the chance to spend time
 on the field at Fenway."
     In addition to the clinic, the participants were given a tour of the
 Red Sox dugout and got to meet Red Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster and
 Hood mascot Coco the Cow.
     "Membership in Kid Nation has almost doubled in size since the program
 was first introduced in 2004," said Lynne Bohan, VP of Public Relations for
 HP Hood. "These are some of the greatest young fans in baseball, and we're
 excited to be able to give them a chance to get up close and personal with
 one of the best pitchers in baseball."
     When Red Sox Kid Nation Presented by Hood launched in 2004, it became
 the first Red Sox fan club for children in team history. Kid Nation is now
 the largest Kids' Club in all of Major League Baseball.
     "The Red Sox are proud of the growth of Red Sox Kid Nation, and we are
 just as proud of our long-standing partnership with HP Hood," said Joe
 Januszewski, VP of Corporate Partnerships for the Boston Red Sox. "Hood has
 shared the vision of our outreach to New England area children from day
 one, and their Home Team Advantage(TM) program has been a model of
 consistent corporate giving."
     This year, members received a welcome kit that included a collectible
 lunch box, an official Kid Nation hat and an official membership card.
 Members were also given an exclusive opportunity to purchase tickets for
 the new Conigliaro's Corner seating area and receive discounts on game
 tickets and various attractions throughout New England.
     Five percent of all Kid Nation membership fees benefit children's
 hospitals throughout New England via the Hood Home Team Advantage program.
 Children 14 and younger may join Red Sox Kid Nation by filling out an
 application online at http://www.redsox.com/kidnation, by calling (888)
 REDSOX6 or by visiting the Kid Nation World Headquarters at Fenway Park.
     About Hood
     Hood was founded in 1846 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, by Harvey
 Perley Hood, and has become one of the largest branded dairy operators in
 the United States. Hood is the number-one dairy brand in New England, and
 Hood's portfolio of national and super-regional brands and franchise
 products includes Kemps, Crowley Foods, LACTAID, Nesquik, Coffee-mate,
 Stonyfield Farm Organic Milk and others. For more than a century, Hood has
 remained committed to supporting local, civic, educational, cultural and
 charitable programs in the communities in which it serves.
 
 

SOURCE HP Hood