The campus community gathered Tuesday for a special College Coffee on Phi Beta Kappa Plaza and to support a fundraiser for Elon programs. For each gift made in honor of President Book's inauguration, a book will be donated to Alamance-Burlington public schools.
Phi Beta Kappa Plaza was filled with faculty, staff and students Tuesday morning to start the celebration of the inauguration of President Connie Ledoux Book and honor the strong relationship between the university and the Alamance-Burlington School System.
The special College Coffee highlighted a unique fundraiser in honor of President Book’s inauguration. The Honor President Book Drive will build support for Elon programs while providing new books to the Alamance-Burlington School System. For each gift of at least $20 to Elon this week, the university will donate a book to local schools with each book containing a sticker noting that it was donated in honor of President Book on her inauguration.
Contributions can also be made online at any time by visiting: https://connect.elon.edu/honor-president-book. More information about the drive, including a running tally of gifts and FAQs, is available here.
“There’s no better way to kick off Inauguration Week than to begin a book fundraiser,” Book told the crowd gathered for hot beverages and sweet treats. “Reading is one of the most powerful tools we have in our lives to imagine more than where we are. We often take access to books and reading for granted.”
By the start of College Coffee on Tuesday, more than 650 gifts had been made, meaning just as many books for all ages of students will be donated to the Alamance-Burlington School System. That number will continue to climb higher through the conclusion of the fundraiser on Saturday when the total number of books to be donated will be announced during the halftime of the football game against the University of Richmond.
Kicking off Tuesday’s program, Director of Alumni Engagement Brian Feeley noted that this fundraiser is just another example of the strength of the bond between Elon and local schools. Feeley, a member of the Alamance County Board of Education, said the book drive was a fitting way to pay tribute to President Book as she is officially installed as Elon’s ninth president.
“Leaders make statements with how they spend their time and they prioritize activities that are important to their community’s wellbeing,” Feeley told the crowd. “So it isn’t any wonder that President Connie Ledoux Book took time out of her busy schedule during the first week of her presidency to engage with the Alamance County schools, including reading books to children at Eastlawn Elementary.”
Elon has a significant presence in Alamance County schools, where nearly 200 alumni are employed and students are involved in a variety of ways as student teachers, tutors and volunteers, Feeley noted.
Among those is Ashley Billie ’21, who shared Tuesday her thoughts on the importance of educational opportunities. The recipient of an Odyssey Program scholarship and an Elon Teaching Fellow, Billie said she looks forward to using what she’s learning at Elon to benefit her students once she becomes a teacher. She presented Bruce Benson, superintendent of Alamance-Burlington School System, with the first book from the drive — “A Perfect Day” by Lane Smith.
“This is a win-win for everyone, as the donations received will benefit our students and programs here on campus while the books donated will benefit students in our public schools,” Billie said. “From volunteering with the ‘It Takes a Village’ project for almost a year, and as an English major, because we do read, I know first-hand how greater access to books can benefit a student’s education.”