Ouachita’s 38th Tiger Serve Day set for April 2

“Service: the action of helping or doing work for someone. Synonymous with favor, kindness, good turn, helping hand.”

On Saturday, April 2, an expected 700 Ouachita Baptist University students will gather to live out this word in the community of Arkadelphia. They will join together to complete 100 projects as a part of Tiger Serve Day, Ouachita’s semi-annual community service event.

“It is our hope that TSD will help students to develop a lifestyle of service and that they will discover the joy of service,” said Ian Cosh, vice president for community and international engagement at OBU. “If they do that then it means that service will play an important role in their lives well beyond the years they are students at Ouachita.”

Early Saturday morning, teams of students, faculty and staff will meet at OBU’s Elrod Center for Family and Community for breakfast before heading out into the community to complete their assigned projects. Their projects may include any number of activities such as doing yard work, indoor cleaning and basic repairs. After the projects are completed, teams will meet back at the Elrod Center for lunch sponsored by Sodexo.

Twenty-five students make up the Tiger Serve Day leadership team. The group works alongside the Elrod Center staff to help with publicity, projects, logistics and team organization.

Haley Martin, a junior mass communications major from Little Rock, Ark., is chair for the team organization group this year. “I love TSD leadership so much!” Martin said. “The TSD team has taught me leadership and organizational skills, but also fostered my heart for the people in our community.”

This spring will mark 38 semesters of Tiger Serve Day since its inception in March 1997, including nearly 75,000 total hours volunteered as part of the initiative.

“Students are able to experience the joy of serving alongside fellow students, faculty and staff and are able to connect in meaningful ways with people in the community,” said Judy Duvall, assistant director of the Elrod Center. “They are also able to see the value of meeting relational and practical needs. We hope that Tiger Serve Day will ignite in our volunteers a desire to continue to serve in other ways throughout the year.”

The Elrod Center’s work to instill a passion for service permeates Ouachita’s student body. Here is how a few Ouachita students define service in 10 words or less:

• “Being Jesus to someone without expecting anything in return.” –Nick Archer, a senior biology major from Fordyce, Ark.
• “Putting someone else’s needs before your own.” –Brook East, a senior sociology major from Royce City, Texas
• “Willingly and selflessly meeting needs, no matter the circumstance.” –Kyle Jackson, a sophomore Christian studies major from Hot Springs, Ark.
• “Service is best when we love others with Christ’s love.” –Rachel Wicker, a senior Christian studies and mass communications double major from Benton, Ark.

To sign up for Tiger Serve Day or for more information visit www.obu.edu/serve or call the Elrod Center at (870) 245-5320

By Ali Robinson // Photos by Grace Finley