MudBugs visit children’s home in South Dakota

RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, who were in South Dakota preparing for a pair of games against the Rapid City Rush, spent a morning visiting kids at the Black Hills Children’s Home. Mudbugs players and coaches were at the Children’s Home for a few hours to talk and interact with the kids and play games. All 52 children at the Black Hills Children’s Home are receiving therapy for emotional and behavioral problems stemming primarily from abuse or neglect. “I’m a big believer in doing good, and I really think that’s what days like (this) are all about,” Head Coach Scott Muscutt said. “I was really proud of how our players jumped right in and got involved with the kids. We wanted this to be a day that they would remember, and honestly, I think we all got as much out of the visit as they did.”

Coach Muscutt and the players led a number of group activities and games with the children, including a game of “Simon Says” with none other than Mudbugs defenseman Simon Mangos. “It was so great to get involved with the kids,” Mangos said. “We had the chance to meet some great, interesting kids, play games with them and make them smile. I think we all really enjoyed giving back to the community, even though it wasn’t in our own backyard.” The players also spent plenty of time talking to the children individually, getting to know them and even exchanging Christmas wishes with one another. Darla Crown, Development Officer for Children’s Home Society, arranged the morning visit. “It was amazing how quickly the kids took to the players,” Crown said. “Coach Muscutt is an inspirational leader. He really helped the kids tap into the concepts of teamwork and the importance of striving for your dreams.” The Black Hills Children’s Home is a residential treatment center where kids between the ages of four and 13 go to heal emotional and behavioral problems. Using tools like individual, group and family therapy, special education and psychiatric services, the goal of the Home is to place children back into a family environment. The average length of stay for a child at the home is about one year, after which time approximately 40 percent of the children will return to their birth families and 50 percent will go to foster care or an adoptive family. “What a great community service the Mudbugs performed while visiting our local area,” Crown said. “The opportunity for the kids to interact with these professional young men, (this) type of role model, is extremely valuable for the children. “The entire experience is a testament to the caliber of the players and the sport of hockey at large.” The Black Hills Children’s Home outside Rapid City is a part of the Children’s Home Society, which is the largest non-profit organization in South Dakota. The CHL and its member teams take a great deal of pride in their charitable efforts including  a new program for the 2008-09 season called ‘Hat Tricks for Kids.’  The program is presented by Infinity Pro Sports. “We are excited to be a part of this program with Infinity Pro Sports and The Hoffen Foundation,” the CHL’s Director of Communications Bob Hoffman said .  “Last season, our teams stepped up donating more than 1.3 million dollars to charity and with this program, it the league’s way of putting together a framework to help support our team’s charitable initiatives. Throughout the CHL’s 512-game regular season schedule , any hat trick  will generate a $25.00 donation on behalf of Infinity Pro Sports to The Hoffen Foundation.  The money is then distributed to children’s charities throughout the markets of the 16 CHL teams. Fans can also donate money to ‘Hat Tricks for Kids’ through the programs webpage accessible at www.hattricksforkids.org . Contact the correspondent at: mitch.cooper@prohockeynews.com Media release and photo courtesy of the Bossier-Shreveport MudBugs