ARKADELPHIA – A total of 820 Ouachita Baptist University students, faculty and staff served the community of Arkadelphia on Saturday, Sept. 21, during its semi-annual Tiger Serve Day. Over 100 locations were served by 97 teams working together with the theme “Doing Good.”
“Once again, this past Saturday Ouachita students stepped up to show their love of community and put their faith into action,” said Ian Cosh, vice president for community and international engagement and director of the Elrod Center. “Each semester we try to consistently prepare and invest ourselves in Tiger Serve Day with the same energy and commitment we did when we first started.”
“This Tiger Serve Day was great,” said Sara Rothwell, a senior graphic design major from New Boston, Texas, and member of the Tiger Serve Day Leadership Team. “The weather was good, everyone got the tools they needed and, overall, it was a good day for the Ouachita community to do some good in Arkadelphia.
“This was my last semester to be a part of Tiger Serve Day before I graduate, which made it even more special to me,” Rothwell added. “I’ve loved being a small part of this big day in Arkadelphia, and I hope we’ll continue ‘Doing Good’ even after the day of Tiger Serve Day.”
The university-wide service initiative is hosted by Ouachita’s Elrod Center for Family and Community and the projects are coordinated by the Tiger Serve Day Leadership Team. Every year, teams of Ouachita students, faculty and staff ranging from about six to eight volunteers are given assignments to work in various capacities all over the community serving senior adults, individuals with disabilities, non-profits and schools in Arkadelphia. The projects include raking yards and trimming bushes to washing cars and cleaning windows, or even helping with small indoor jobs.
“The Tiger Serve Day Leadership Team continues to refine the process of preparing for and executing the day to make it better, but much of what we do semester-to-semester is deliver the same quality experience for our volunteers and community,” said Judy Duvall, associate director of the Elrod Center. “It always does my heart good to see so many volunteers come out early on a Saturday to work together and care for their community!
“Tiger Serve Day reminds us that we need each other,” Duvall continued. “As we live side by side, both in a university setting and a community, volunteers and community members are reminded that we have much to learn from each other and much to give each other, as well.”
For more information about Tiger Serve Day, visit www.obu.edu/serve or call the Elrod Center at (870) 245-5320.