By Janet Carden, Opinions Section Editor
Coming this Saturday, April 18, Lighthouse Ministries presents the thrift shopping experience Ouachitonians love to support. Lighthouse Day gives shoppers the chance to thrift with the proceeds going to Lighthouse to provide food, clothing, and other needs for those in need.
Lighthouse Ministries aims to spread the gospel through their work providing people with basic necessities. They minister through the provision of physical needs, walking with people during difficult times in their lives. To be homeless, or facing the threat of homelessness, people may find it difficult to keep their faith when their basic needs aren’t even being met. In these moments of darkness, people without faith may find it difficult to ever turn to God. Lighthouse aims to be a light by providing for all the needs of the people they help.
The thrift shop pop-up supporting the ministry is made more unique by who’s involved and how they came to be involved. Katelyn Watson, a junior business administrative major, was given a project in her social entrepreneurship class that encouraged her to get involved with an Arkadelphian non-profit and help in a definable way in the span of a semester.
Social entrepreneurship is the idea that you gain profit and commit it to a philanthropic purpose. Housing the homeless. Providing housing for abused women and children. Feeding hungry children. Church missions. There are endless ways to contribute, but social entrepreneurship may look like Tacos 4 Life who donate a meal for every meal item purchased at their participating locations.
At Ouachita, the concept is taught in a class by Johan Eriksson, which looks to align christian morals and business teachings. It provides basic guidelines and shows how business majors can incorporate their morals into future projects, business, and careers. All business majors learn that lesson at Ouachita–how do we incorporate our morals in the real world in our future careers?
For Katelyn Watson, Lighthouse Ministries provided an avenue to do just that. “We’re trying to give them some visibility, while also raising more funds for them, since they have talked about their biggest issue being a lack of funding for the basic needs of the community,” said Watson. “They just kind of shine a light on the gospel through the way they serve.”
This focus of servant-work is a crucial component of Eriksson’s class, where he pushes the questions students to shift the way they think of helping others. “How can we support local nonprofits and take in partnership or in collaboration with those nonprofits,” said Eriksson. “How can our students, our Ouachita students, come alongside and do, create and hopefully support or provide a meaningful impact through their mission.”
This project serves multiple purposes–as all good projects do. The experience, the morals and values, and the benefit it gives the community.
Eriksson added that the class also allows students to create better connections with the world outside of ‘the bubble.’ “This project gives us a chance also to contribute back to the city and the county that, to some degree, allow us to be here.”
As extra motivation for students to succeed, this project doubles as a competition where the group with the highest impact wins a trophy with their names on it.
Lighthouse Day will be this Saturday, April 18 from 10am-2pm at 3163 Hollywood Rd, Arkadelphia, AR 71923. They’ll have food trucks and a silent auction with plenty of goodies.
Make sure to attend and find wonderful clothing for a great purpose!
