Ouachita’s Elrod Center to host Spring 2019 Tiger Serve Day on April 6

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On Saturday, April 6, Ouachita students, faculty and staff will serve the community for Tiger Serve Day.

March 18, 2019 - Mercedes Mata

Ouachita Baptist University’s Elrod Center for Family and Community will host Tiger Serve Day on Saturday, April 6. The semi-annual campus-wide service initiative is held every semester as an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to serve the broader Arkadelphia community. The Tiger Serve Day theme for the 2018-2019 academic year is “Lending a Hand.”

“Tiger Serve Day is primarily a mass commitment to serve as a university community,” said Ian Cosh, vice president for community and international engagement and director of the Elrod Center. “It is a signature event of the Elrod Center designed to demonstrate our unity and neighborly care.

“We aim to have 800 to 900 people serving,” Cosh added. “The more the merrier!”

tsd1 Volunteer teams across campus sign up to participate, and the Tiger Serve Day leadership team – the student group responsible for organizing and planning the event – assigns teams a variety of projects such as raking yards, mowing lawns, painting houses or even organizing garages.

“We hope to have all of our clubs, organizations, athletic teams, ministries and other friend groups join together to serve on this day,” said Judy Duvall, associate director of the Elrod Center. “There is a place for everyone to serve!”

Tiger Serve Day not only bridges the gap between the Ouachita and Arkadelphia communities, but also unites Ouachita’s campus. Teams show up on Saturday morning to eat breakfast together before heading to their respective projects. When they return to campus, lunch is served.

“The teams have a sense of community and bond as they serve together, and the community feels known and cared for as the volunteers share their time with them for this day,” Duvall said.

“In our generation, we often glamorize the big actions of love. We have forgotten the beauty and impact of just showing up and helping someone mow their yard or clean the inside of their house,” said Davis Wadley, a senior social justice studies major from Batesville, Ark., and member of the Tiger Serve Day Leadership Team. “There is still power in the small actions. We are here to remind our campus of this idea and provide a meaningful service to our community.”

For more information on Tiger Serve Day, visit www.obu.edu/serve, or call the Elrod Center at (870) 245-5320.

By Mercedes Mata // Photos by Alex Blankenship. On Saturday, April 6, Ouachita students, faculty and staff will serve the community for Tiger Serve Day.

March 18, 2019