Ready. Set. Read! Last Tuesday, the Honors Program sponsored the annual Read-A-Thon in the lobby of the University Union. After donating at least $3 to benefit the Slippery Rock Community Library, students came in and simply read, from novels to class notes.
Sophomore biology pre-PA major, Alexus Nubani said 87 students participated last week, and the Honors Program raised $400 for the library. The library, which began its life as a one-room building, all the money raised Tuesday will be directly benefitting the creation of a new, bigger library for the Slippery Rock community.
“We also have an anonymous donor who said they’re going to match the money that we donate,” Nubani said. “So whatever we donate is getting doubled.”
Paired with the other volunteer co-chair Megan Karafa, Nubani started advertisement for this event at the beginning of this semester, talking it up at Honors Program meetings, as well as elsewhere on campus. Drawing students to the Read-A-Thon was the promise of volunteer hours, a necessity for students in the Honors Program and a resume builder for others, as well.
“You get volunteer hours for being here and reading,” Nubani said. “You can read your textbook, you can read your notes, anything, and you get volunteer hours for it.”
Also, like many other fundraisers with this style, the possibility of sponsorship was made available. Students could ask their friends or family to donate a certain amount of money for every hour spent reading, or they could donate a base-level amount for the whole time.
Nubani said she learned a lot through this process, including advertising, planning, and other basic logistics, all of which she had done for the first time in planning this event. She had to create flyers, set up people to man the table and money, and generally get the word out to the campus.
“At the end of the day, it was all worth it,” Nubani said with a smile. “And it’s actually really exciting to be in charge of something and to plan something.”
This year’s Read-A-Thon was not its debut, as the Honors Program hosted it last year as well, except it was held in Bailey Library as opposed to the University Union. Nubani said the reason for the relocation was mostly due to the construction at SRU’s beloved Club Bailey, and the lobby of the Union was the biggest space available and could help her succeed with the vision she had in mind.
“I know the library is really going to appreciate this money,” Nubani said. “The success of this event motivates me to keep doing community service like this.”
Thanks to an anonymous donor who promised they would double the money the Honors Program raised, the Slippery Rock Community Library will be receiving $800 toward their new building. Nubani said SRU hasn’t seen the last of the Read-A-Thon for this year, so students should keep an eye out as next semester rolls around.
