HP Student Philanthropy Kicks Off for the New Year

For the Murray State University Honors Program, Monday, October 24 was an afternoon of raffle tickets, hot dogs, and most of all, kickball.

Kickballin’ for Books is a philanthropic fundraiser for the International Book Project (IBP) out of Lexington, Ky. According to the IBP website, the organization has sent over 5.8 billion books abroad since 1966.

Claire Reason, Honors Program Student Council philanthropy chair, said the Honors Program’s contribution will help fund the IBP’s new initiative to promote literacy in America through partnering with Teach for America. Reason said the funds will also be used towards providing resources for teaching English in schools of the former Soviet States.

“As Honors Program students, we have a special appreciation for books and learning. The IBP helps us spread this appreciation across the country and the world,” Reason said.

The Honors Program Student Council has been contributing to the IBP for the past three years. However, ‘Ballin for Books began as a basketball tournament to benefit Murray State University’s Waterfield Library. As the event developed, the HPSC wanted a global and campus-wide target.

“We wanted a larger demographic of participants,” said Amy Buchweitz, HPSC president.

This year, six campus organizations participated in the event: Alpha Kappa Psi, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Elizabeth College, the Honors Program Freshmen, MSU Alliance Dream Team, and Sigma Phi Epsilon, and. First place went to Sigma Phi Epsilon with Elizabeth College in second and the Alliance Dream Team for the Spirit Award.

Site Directory