Watson students deliver nearly 600 books, school supplies to local school

Students from the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science at Binghamton University delivered nearly 600 new reading books and school supplies to students at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School in Binghamton on Dec. 9.

“On behalf of Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School, we are extremely happy to work with Athletes for Charity and Theta Tau (Professional Engineering Fraternity) once again to provide quality books for our children to read and enjoy! This year’s initiative coincides perfectly with our new Reader’s Workshop reading initiative and will provide children with more opportunities to read independently at school and at home and to read with loved ones at home. We are truly fortunate to work with such caring and gracious organizations!” said Roosevelt Elementary School Principal David Chilson in a statement.

Members of Theta Tau held a series of fundraisers on campus to help purchase the donated books.

“One of the main pillars of Theta Tau is community service and giving back to the community in which we live and learn. The reason many of us study engineering is so that we can leave this world in a better place and inspire others to do the same,” said Theta Tau’s former community service and philanthropy chair Abhishek Paul. Paul graduated in May with a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. He currently a Modeling and Simulation Engineer for the Northrop Grumman Corporation in Florida.

“With the mounting stress of final exams, this event allows us to take a break to go interact with the kids who are always excited to see us,” Paul said. “With the holiday season approaching, it also gives us a satisfying feeling knowing that we were able to make the coming holidays even better for the kids. We look forward to contributing to our local communities via events such as this annual book drive.”

The initiative was started four years ago by Binghamton alumna Cathleen Laporte. She approached Theta Tau to partner with Athletes for Charity, a non-profit organization founded by Laporte, to implement the distribution of books in Binghamton Public Schools. Nearly 2,500 books have been delivered since in an effort to promote youth literacy and encourage academic excellence.

“As a Binghamton alumna, it is my pleasure to have teamed up with current Binghamton University students to benefit the students of Roosevelt Elementary through a delivery of books to encourage the importance of reading for kids,” said Laporte.

Members of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets, also took part in the event.