More than 700 Ouachita volunteers serve Arkadelphia community
October 04, 2024
- Margaret Guerra Ouachita Baptist University’s Ben M. Elrod Center for Family & Community held its 55th Tiger Serve Day on Saturday, Sept. 28. More than 700 Ouachita students, faculty and staff volunteered by completing 92 projects at homes, churches, nonprofits and other locations throughout Arkadelphia.
Phylis Clements of Arkadelphia has had teams serve at her home many times. She said, “This day is easily one of the biggest blessings in my life each and every year.”
“Tiger Serve Day is one of my favorite days of the year,” said Leigh Anne McKinney, assistant director of the Elrod Center. “There is something really special about watching such a large percent of our campus head out into our community.”
The Tiger Serve Day leadership team, composed of 29 students and two staff members, begins planning at the start of each semester by organizing teams, visiting projects and creating a theme to unify the day’s work. Each Monday, the leadership team meets to discuss project details, teams and tool logistics.
“Tiger Serve Day is such a great way to serve the community, while also creating a community of fellow students, faculty and staff who love serving those around them,” said leadership team member Mary Kathryn Staley, a junior community & family services major from Hot Springs, Ark.
Andrew Ellis, a senior accounting and finance double major from Ruston, La., has served on the leadership team for four years.
“It’s been rewarding to see how Tiger Serve Day unfolds every semester,” he said, “and to see the growth for a few years now.”
Judy Duvall, director of the Elrod Center, noted the year’s theme, “‘Seek the Good,' comes from Philippians 2:3-8 and captures so beautifully the mission of Tiger Serve Day – to unselfishly focus on the needs of others in our community, seeking their good with Christ as our example of a true servant.”
She added, “Our hope for our students is that this day of service will jumpstart a desire in them to serve long after Tiger Serve Day and that service will become a way of life.”
For more information on Tiger Serve Day and other service opportunities through the Elrod Center, visit obu.edu/elrod or call (870) 245-5320.
Lead photo by Meghann Bledsoe
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