Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings have continued their commitment to community engagement through the Red Wings for Reading program during the 2024-25 season. The initiative reached over 10,000 students in metro Detroit, donating 4,000 books and logging three million minutes of reading. Red Wings personnel also contributed 250 volunteer hours.

This outreach was achieved through programs such as Reading Buddies, United Way’s “My Home Library,” and the Classroom Challenge. At Chrysler Elementary School in downtown Detroit, volunteers engaged with students by reading to them and providing books to build their home libraries.

The Reading Buddies program involved weekly visits by Red Wings staff to Chrysler Elementary during National Reading Month in March. Volunteers read to each grade level from kindergarten through fifth grade and gifted a copy of the book to each student.

In collaboration with United Way, the “My Home Library” initiative provided five free books to students at elementary schools identified as "book deserts" in southeast Michigan. The Detroit Red Wings Foundation supported book fairs at New Paradigm Glazer Academy, Daly Elementary, and Holbrook Elementary. Marco Kasper, a forward for the Red Wings, visited New Paradigm Glazer Academy and Madison Elementary.

“It’s awesome being here,” Kasper remarked. “Obviously it’s awesome for the kids, and just to see how happy they are to learn about the Red Wings and hockey in general. Giving back to the community is awesome, and I really like doing it.”

Kasper read "Dino-Hockey," a book by Michigan author Lisa Wheeler that uses hockey terms creatively to engage children with the sport.

“You can see that when you come here, these kids are so happy to see you,” Kasper added. “You’re doing this with the Red Wings logo on, and they know what that logo is. It’s just awesome to be here, get the kids to learn about the sport and get involved in reading.”

The Classroom Challenge encourages reading among thousands of children across Michigan during National Reading Month. This year saw an increase from 250 participating classrooms in 2024 to 400 in 2025, raising student involvement from 6,500 last year to over 9,000 this year.

Participating teachers received kits containing student incentives and rewards like pizza parties for classes with high average reading minutes.

For more information on how classrooms can participate or learn more about the program itself, visit DetroitRedWings.com/Reading.