Students are raising money and reading levels again this semester with the annual Coaching for Literacy fundraiser. The organization combats illiteracy across the state and reported that 85 percent of teens in the Mississippi Juvenile Court system are illiterate.
Annually, the group sells raffle tickets for the winner to be the “assistant coach” at an Ole Miss basketball game. This year, the winner will sit alongside coach Andy Kennedy at the game against Missouri Feb. 25.
The raffle serves as the organization’s primary source of fundraising. With a sponsorship from C-Spire, Coaching for Literacy has raised nearly $30,000 in the first two years. Last year alone, the raffle raised approximately $20,000.
Coaching for Literacy Co-Vice President and junior public policy and pre-med major Dion Kevin said the organization uses sports to bring awareness to the issue of illiteracy and raise funds for local literacy programs across the country.
“Ole Miss has one of the largest chapters and does an excellent job of raising funds and awareness for local literacy programs,” Kevin said.
Coaching for Literacy began in August 2013 when then-high school seniors Andrew Renshaw and Jonathan Wilfong of Memphis, Tennessee, answered to a challenge from their teacher to make a difference. The two combined their knowledge of at-home literacy problems and their passion for sports to start the program.
During the 2014-2015 school year, Memphians Matt Bolton and Hurston Reed brought Coaching for Literacy to the university with help from Wade Meena and Brent Ferguson of Jackson and Conner Adkins of Jackson, Tennessee. Bolton and Reed said they wanted to support literacy programs in the Oxford-Lafayette-University community.
“As a lifelong resident of Oxford, it is nice to see college students give their time to benefit the children of my own community,” Kevin said. “Coaching for Literacy means a lot to me and the community, and I’m incredibly excited to be a part of the fight for literacy.”
Zac Herring is a sophomore international studies major and the logistics coordinator for the University of Mississippi’s Coaching for Literacy. He became involved because he thinks Mississippi has one of the poorest educational systems, which he thinks is one of the biggest problems with literacy. Herring coordinates events throughout the semester to raise awareness for illiteracy and the problems it can cause.
“I was really excited to have a chance to see if we could fight that and all its negative effects from illiteracy,” Herring said.
The organization will begin selling the $10 raffle tickets Tuesday, Jan. 31, and will continue sales for the following three weeks from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Circle. In addition, on Feb. 22, when the raffle ends, students can get into Club Library for free by showing their ticket instead of paying the $20 cover charge. The Library bar will also allow 18 and older patrons that night.
Other than purchasing a raffle ticket, students can post the hashtag #CSpire4Literacy on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, prompting C-Spire to donate $1 for each hashtag, up to $2,500.
This philanthropy benefits a number of different Mississippi programs, including Barksdale Reading Institute, Leap Frog Tutoring and the Mississippi Children’s Museum. The reading institute directed funds raised last year to Quitman County Elementary to purchase school library books. Coaching for Literacy donates not only funds but also time as tutors and mentors to Leap Frog.
According to Herring, on occasion, Coaching for Literacy works with existing programs in schools, assists teachers with methods to improve literacy and hosts summer intervention programs.
Going forward, Herring said the organization is hoping to reach $25,000 in raffle sales and see significant growth in benchmark scores in Quitman County schools.
