The 157 participants in the 18th annual “Love Your Libraries Fun Run,” hosted by the University of Tennessee Graduate Student Senate last March, together raised $13,670 for UT Knoxville’s University Libraries. Combined with gifts from sponsoring businesses, a total of more than $15,000 was raised by the event.
Beginning at Circle Park, the looping course of the 5k run wound through the campus, finishing back where it started. Participants from the campus and its surrounding communities came out to run for this great cause. “I was pleased with the turnout,” said Tom Whitworth, GSS president. GSS requested that the funds generated by the event be used to buy electronic library resources, both popular with students and critical to their success.
The resources available in the libraries of UT Knoxville are essential to graduate students, Whitworth said. “As graduate students, research is what we do. Collections are very important to us, as are electronic journals and e-books. We must maintain and increase electronic journals, current resources that are critical to students. GSS is committed to the event and will continue to support the race in the future.”
Comcast served as the title sponsor of the Fun Run. The company broadcasted public service announcements about the Fun Run on cable TV and provided financial support, encouraging its employees to do the same by participating in the race. Rivr Media’s corporate contribution helped create the PSAs that publicized the Fun Run and raised awareness of the benefits to the community provided by the University Libraries.
Learn more about what’s happening at the University Libraries by visiting www.lib.utk.edu.