Elizabeth Pulanco / Winonan

Winona State University is home to several student organizations dedicated to engaging students in different activities and helping them build lifelong skills. Every once in a while, these organizations also allow students to give back to their community.

Sigma Tau Delta, an international English honor society, is one of these organizations.

According to current Winona State Chapter President Tori McKenzie, Sigma Tau Delta is a new addition to campus.

“Winona State University has only had a chapter of Sigma Tau Delta for a couple years, so the club is still in the process of growing and deciding our role on campus,” McKenzie said.

From February 17 to March 17, the honor society collected children’s books for the Winona State University Children’s Center.

“The center cares for children ages infant to fifth grade, so we asked for books with any of those reading levels,” McKenzie said.

The book drive officially ended at the beginning of April, but some donation boxes are still on campus, and donations can be delivered directly to the children’s center.

Megan Wefel, who designed and decorated the donation boxes, was not only able to participate in this event as a member of Sigma Tau Delta, but she also contributed to her time as a member of Art Club.

“I brought the idea to Art Club and they were happy to help,” Wefel said. “Each box had pictures that caught the eye and encouraged people to donate.”

Along with being creatively involved with the event, Wefel believes the book donation helped bring awareness to other ways college students can give back to their community.

“It is a way to give back to your community without having to spend a lot of money or take up a lot of your time,” Wefel said. “We don’t need new books. Go home over the weekend and find a bunch of old children’s books that you don’t want, we’ll take them and the children of the community will enjoy them.”

McKenzie mentioned how this event has been able to uphold Sigma Tau Delta’s mission of encouraging literacy within the community.

“Literacy development starts at a young age, so it is very important that we expose children to as much reading material as possible,” McKenzie said.

Besides being the president of Sigma Tau Delta, McKenzie is also a staff member at the children’s center. While working at the children’s center, McKenzie gets to see how the donated books impact the children.

“I am a communication arts and teaching major, so this event really appealed to my two main passions: literacy and educating youth,” McKenzie said. “I work in one of the toddler rooms, so I am very excited to see the kids’ faces when they have new books to read.”