VESTAL, N.Y. – For the third consecutive year, Binghamton's Leadership Institute (Explore, Engage and B You – EEBU) will host its "Night at the Races." A community-wide fundraiser for charity, the event will be held Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Events Center.
Groups from campus and the local community will compete in stick horse races to raise money for charity. There will also be entertainment and free giveaways. For more information visit
https://nightattheraces.wixsite.com/nightattheraces.
"The Night of the Races connects having a fun night with friends and family and being able to do something good for the community," men's soccer player and EEBU member Noah Luescher said "The three winning teams will be able to donate their wins to their charity of choice, which will give the game a competitive nuance."
"It's a is a great event for us every year," fellow EEBU member and women's swimmer Sarah Schoenfeld said. "It's about so much more than the actual horse races themselves. We're able to bring together teams, university groups and community members for one night just to relax and focus on having fun amidst busy schedules for everyone."
A major tenant of EEBU, which is exemplified by "Night at the Races" is to reach beyond the athletic department. Members of EEBU are on board with that and recall it as one of their favorite part of the event.
"We have tried to steer the Night at the Races in a direction that involves more than just athletes," Schoenfeld said. "It is easy for us athletes to just tell our teams to come to the event, so we made a huge push to get our advertising out into the community and past just athletics. We had a couple local businesses come and support us, as well as many families and children. It was great to be able to tie together our family here as an athletic department as well as the greater Binghamton community."
EEBU started as a three-year program funded by a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Choices grant designed to address an ever-increasing concern on college campuses: excessive drinking. Now in its third year, EEBU involves more than just the athletic department. The Binghamton University College of Community and Public Affairs (CCPA), the School of Management (SOM) and the Department of Residential Life have also played a role. Those student-athletes involved in EEBU receive training and support to help them feel comfortable talking to other students about the risks associated with alcohol use, underage drinking and peer pressure.
Although the three-year NCAA grant will expire this coming summer, EEBU will continue and those student-athletes involved are grateful for what they have learned.
"I've learned an enormous amount about myself as both a leader and a person by being able to collaborate with all of the young, intelligent members of the group," Schoenfeld said. "The most valuable thing I have gotten out of EEBU was learning how to talk to my teammates and peers about difficult and sensitive subjects - a skill that I think I'll take with me wherever I end up in life."
"Being part of the EEBU leadership team has been great so far," Luescher said. "It helps me grow as a leader and gives me the opportunity to meet new people and make new connections in different areas. It also helps me learn important information regarding making healthy decisions as a college student, which I can apply to my everyday life as well as help friends that might be struggling with college stress and how they handle it. EEBU is a great program and I'm proud of being a part of it."
