Men's Basketball Participates in Ticket to Reading Rewards Program
Dec 03 | Men's Basketball
LINDEN, N.J. –The Rutgers men’s basketball program continued its community activity on Friday by participating in the “Ticket to Reading Rewards” program. Head coach Mike Rice, Director of Player Development Eric Murdock and players Mike Coburn (Mount Vernon, N.Y.), Jonathan Mitchell (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) and Austin Carroll (Bedford, Mass.) spoke with kids about importance the importance of reading and education at the Soehl and McManus schools.
“Ticket to Reading Rewards” is a reading incentive program that encourages Middle School students to read books outside the classroom and obtain rewards for reading. It was founded in 2002 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Foundation and is coordinated by the Orvieto Group. Over the life of the program, students have read an estimated 4,000,000 books, obtained nearly 1,000,000 rewards and attended 125,000 local men's and women's NCAA basketball games--all at no cost to schools or students.
The Scarlet Knights take a proactive approach to civic responsibility under Rice. The team participates in a multitude of community outreach initiatives, including “Scarlet Letters.” Through the program, every player is assigned a pen pal at a local elementary school, enabling the Scarlet Knights to serve as positive role models in the surrounding communities. The team also participates in the “Read Across America” and Toys for Tots programs. This fall, Rutgers basketball players volunteered at Elijah’s Promise, a soup kitchen in New Brunswick that seeks to move people from hunger to wholeness.
