Bowling for books

By Brett Okamoto

Friday, April 24, 2009 | 3:01 p.m.

Griffith Elementary School in Northwest Las Vegas has a unique lineup for its daily morning announcements.

They remind the kids of the school's mission statement, to always try their best. Then they give a "word of the day" to increase vocabulary, followed by any important daily announcements and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Then, at least in the Fall, they announce the New York Giants score.

"On Mondays, I'll ask them, 'Did you guys watch the Giants game this weekend?'" said literacy specialist Candice Murphy, who is in charge of the announcements. "On Fridays, I'll remind them that the team is playing."

It's not that the kids have all been shipped in from Manhattan. The reason for announcing Giants scores is that every single kid at Griffith has a friend in the NFL -- Giants offensive lineman Grey Ruegamer.

Actually, Ruegamer has a lot of friends in elementary schools around the Las Vegas area. It started in 2003 when Ruegamer, then playing for the Green Bay Packers, visited Elmore Elementary in Wisconsin to speak with the kids. Always drawn to community service, Ruegamer noticed that the library at Elmore was unimpressive to say the least.

"They took me in to see the kids and I remember being really surprised that, even for an elementary school, the library hadn't been updated in a very long time,"Ruegamer said. "So I donated a little bit of money to start a reading program at the school. I've always been drawn to charity work and after that, this reading program really fell into place."

Shortly after that visit, Ruegamer founded a reading program he calls Ruegy's Readers, which encourages education through literacy. Ruegamer brought the program to Las Vegas in 2006, joining up with Clark County READS. This weekend, on NFL Draft Day, Ruegamer will host the third annual Bowling for Books fundraiser at Sun Coast Hotel & Casino. All proceeds going to Las Vegas elementary schools to help update their library selection. Last year's fundraiser raised over $6,000.

Although Ruegamer ended up graduating from Bishop Gorman and continuing his education at Arizona State, he remembers school was difficult for him, especially when it came to subjects he wasn't interested in. The future pro was a three-time letter winner in football and track and went undefeated in wrestling his senior year, but struggled with staying focused in the classroom.

Reading however, turned into an enjoyable way for Ruegamer to educate himself.

"I think school systems are too driven to teach kids how to take a test sometimes," Ruegamer said. "That doesn't necessarily make the smartest student. I feel like we can start introducing education through literacy. There's a whole lot you can learn from books that aren't text books, books that entertain the brain. I'm just trying to encourage kids to work hard. School can be boring for all of us and kids need to be reminded how important it is."

As beneficial as the financial help schools have received from Ruegamer's efforts, the greatest part of the program has turned into the interaction between the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Giant and the kids. Ruegamer, 32, guesses he's visited between 15 and 17 Las Vegas schools, hosting pizza parties, speaking at assemblies and just hanging out.

"At first, his stature is so big the kids are just in awe of him," Murphy said. "But he comes in very casual, he let's each kid high five him, he shows them his Super Bowl ring which they think is so cool. We have displays all over the school with his jersey number up."

Ruegamer's program isn't the only one helping Clark Country READS in its effort to increase child literacy, but according to senior director Curtis Jones, it's special because of Ruegamer's ability to connect with the kids.

"The thing is he wants to do it," Jones said. "His personality is, he's one of the kids. We have a lot of corporations that help fund education, but the kids are just in school. Sometimes they see people who are helping them but usually not. When Grey adds that personal touch, it makes it even better."

Bowling for Books will take place this Saturday at Sun Coast Hotel & Casino at 11:30 a.m. The event will include a silent auction, a Hope Chest that includes a number of prizes and appearances by other professional athletes. Registration is available at www.ruegysreaders.com

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].