University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Real Winners Read, Especially at Southern Miss
10/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Real Winners Read, Especially at Southern Miss
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? Most Golden Eagle fans are aware of the role the Student Academic Enhancement Program (SAEP) plays in the Southern Miss athletic department?s ongoing efforts to ?provide education through athletics.?
Many of those same fans probably are not aware of the larger scope of SAEP?s activities. An integral component of the enrichment services offered through SAEP is its life skills instruction program that is offered to all students. This program provides students the opportunity to participate in individual and group community service projects.
One such example involves representatives from all sports participating in reading programs for children at local libraries and schools. During upcoming Homecoming festivities at Southern Miss, Golden Eagle student-athletes are sponsoring the Second Annual ?Real Winners Read? campaign in an effort to further illustrate their message to the community that ?literacy is important for future success." Last year in the the FIrst Annual Real Winners Read campaign, over 2,000 books were collected.
Student-athletes, through the SAEP, are asking Golden Eagle fans to bring new or used children?s books, in good condition, to the Oct.. 27, Southern Miss-Houston Homecoming game. Student-athletes will be positioned at each gate to collect the books as fans enter ?The Rock?. These books then will be distributed to school libraries across the state.
Tracy Robinson, SAEP director, encourages all fans to help make this phase of ?Real Winners Read? a success. ?Through this program, we are not only attempting to spread an important message, but also to assist in providing much-needed resources for children who deserve the best chance we can provide for them to experience success,? she said.
?Our student-athletes do an outstanding job both on the playing field and in the classroom, and programs such as these allow them to help meet critical needs throughout the community. It?s a program we feel will be beneficial not only to those the student-athletes help, but also to the student-athletes themselves. They earn a new appreciation of the needs that exist along with the enjoyment that comes from helping others.
