Red Claws invite kids to take shots – of flu vaccine, as well as from the foul line

The Maine Red Claws professional basketball team is pairing with Mercy Hospital Saturday for an early afternoon event at the Portland Expo, in which kids can come take part in a free throw tournament, mingle with Red Claws reps [including players, coaches and mascot Crusher] and get a free flu shot.

So, for parents who had plans to take their kids out for seasonal flu shots anyway, here’s a way to sell it to the youngsters as something fun to do.

Red Claws mascot Crusher takes a shot from the foul line, and forgets to let go of the ball, in this picture pulled from his Facebook page.

Kids, if you’re reading this: Congratulations for being on a newspaper website. Encourage your parents to join you here, and I’ll see if there are any freeware video games I can embed in a future blog post to make your continued visits worthwhile. I mean, to add to the tremendous benefit you get from being informed about your community. No do your homework.

Anyway, back to Saturday’s shindig. If children interested in the free throw challenge and Red Claws mingling have already had flu shots, that’s OK, too. There doesn’t seem to be any requirement that to come and take part, one must also get vaccinated.

Among the awards on the table for participants are tickets to a Dec. 31 afternoon game against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. For registration or more information about the tournament call 879-3605 or email redclaws@mercyme.com. The event starts at 1 p.m. at the Expo, which is located at 239 Park Ave. in Portland.

Here’s a little bit of background provided by Mercy Hospital:

Now in its 3rd year, the ‘Best Shot for Youth’ Initiative raises funds through its sponsors to provide free sports physicals at Mercy Primary Care locations for students, grades 6-12 who do not have a primary care physician or who are currently patients of Mercy Primary Care. Over 125 physicals were provided over this past year.

This year’s sponsors of the Best Shot for Youth Initiative include: Coca-Cola, Fairchild Semiconductor, Maine Magazine, Quirk Chevrolet and St. Joseph’s College.

Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.