Ouachita Stories

Each year, Ouachita presents opportunities for students to serve the community of Arkadelphia. Tiger Serve Day (TSD) is one of the most popular traditions that gathers students from every club, organization and athletic team. It highlights the strong service component that is a part of our university.

Each semester, a leadership team through the Elrod Center at Ouachita comes together to begin planning for the big event. We meet every Monday in the weeks leading up to the event to discuss the projects that Ouachita volunteers will be completing on Tiger Serve Day. We then spend time going out and spending one-on-one time with those that will be served. At team meetings, students build community, pray for all aspects of the day and assess our goals.

This April, our TSD Leadership Team faced a particular challenge like no other.

As the service day approached, the radar was full of red. A sequence of storms was expected to hit Arkadelphia hard. Our primary goal was safety for the campus and community. On the Friday before TSD, we made the tough decision to pivot to indoor projects only due to the weather forecast.

Students who had been looking forward to the day had concerns about the canceled projects. Madison Holmes, a biomedical sciences major from Cabot, was a team leader whose outdoor project had been canceled. She was persistent in finding a safe way for her team to serve on Tiger Serve Day and took her team to serve at the Nightingale Nursing Home in Arkadelphia.

“TSD means coming together to reflect God’s love through action,” Holmes said.

Her team was joined by another TSD group who spent time with the residents, playing bingo and cleaning supplies.

“As we pivoted to indoor projects because of the weather, volunteers were flexible and volunteered to join other teams and agreed to serve after Tiger Serve Day,” said Elrod Center Director Judy Duvall.  “Community residents whose projects were canceled were understanding. The disruption of weather forced us to change plans, but it was beautiful to see the campus and community come together.”

Twenty-nine teams were able to work at indoor projects throughout the day. Other teams committed to serve at projects throughout the following week. The rainy weather could not keep students and faculty away, as new projects emerged throughout the community. The Arkadelphia Humane Society experienced significant flooding, and we were able to send members out during the day and the following week to help clean up the building and tend to the animals.

“I am proud of how incredibly prepared the team was,” TSD Leadership Team member Jackson Lipscomb said of the Humane Society experience. The senior biomedical sciences major from Sherman, Texas, added, “It was a blessing to be a part of it.”

Despite the storms, over 350 volunteers were sent out on Saturday, April 5, and in the following week to complete much-needed projects. The challenges that arose during Tiger Serve Day could not diminish our joy of serving.

 

Margaret Guerra is a junior communications and community & family services double major from Benton, Arkansas.

 

 

Lead photo by Meghann Bledsoe

• Tags:
• Elrod Center
• Tiger Serve Day