**Colts, Great Clips, Department of Child Services Support
Books for Youth
**
INDIANAPOLIS – What better way to show your Colts
fanaticism at the 2009 season home opener than by getting your hair
dyed blue? This Sunday, the Colts, Great Clips and the Indiana
Department of Child Services (DCS) are teaming up to give fans the
opportunity to do just that - all while supporting Indiana foster
children.
From 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. this Sunday, September 13, in the American Family Fan Zone, which is located at the Southeast Corner of Lucas Oil Stadium, fans can visit the Great Clips table to get a haircut or get their hair temporarily dyed Colts blue. Donations will be accepted with all proceeds benefiting the Books for Youth program, which was started by the Colts and DCS in 2006 to provide a backpack filled with 25 age-appropriate books for every foster child in Indiana. To date, the Colts and DCS have collected more than 360,000 books for this initiative.
Fans can also drop off new or gently used books, as well as cash donations, at any of the Colts Community Collection Stations, presented by Toyota, located outside each of the Lucas Oil Stadium gates from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. this Sunday, September 13.
About Books for Youth
On Tuesday, December 12, 2006 the Indianapolis Colts announced a new partnership with the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) for the "Books for Youth" program. Through this program, the Colts and the DCS will provide every foster child in Indiana with their own personal library of 25 age-appropriate books.
On any given day in Marion County alone, more than 1,200 children are in the foster care system and too often they leave their belongings behind when they move. The Colts and DCS want to change that by helping place 25 age- appropriate books per child into the hands of foster youth and young adults and are asking for community support to make a smart handoff to Indiana's youth.
Since launching this initiative, the Colts and DCS have collected more than 360,000 books statewide through gameday collections, school book drives, Colts Blue Friday events and more. To learn more about Books for Youth, visit www.colts.com/booksforyouth.
