March 1, 1997—A tornado ripped through the city of Arkadelphia. A community gripped with fear and mourning scrambled for help and Ouachita students were there to bring just that. A day of community service was already planned, but when the severe weather hit, the Elrod Center quickly adapted and shifted its focus toward disaster relief. Tiger Serve Day was born.
Each Tiger Serve Day, Ouachita students, faculty and staff join together to give back to the community to better lives and offer hope. Ultimately, it is an opportunity for volunteers to show and share the love of Christ through service.
“I just can’t tell you how thankful my sister Mickey and I are for this wonderful day,” said Ina Phelps, an Arkadelphia resident “When you’re old like us, it’s hard to get around and do certain tasks inside and outside the house.”
The Tiger Serve Day Leadership Team is responsible for all aspects of the day: finding volunteers, creating team assignments and gathering and organizing tools. Members of the team put in weeks of preparation in order for the day to run as smooth as possible.
“As a TSD Leader, it’s incredible to see the how much of an impact our student body can have on Arkadelphia,” said junior Adam Graves, a member of the Publicity Team. “We get to plan and organize everything leading up to the big day. It’s pretty cool being on the other side of things and seeing how God orchestrates each little part of the day.”
Teams of six to eight volunteers are put together and assigned to a home or business to help in Arkadelphia and the surrounding communities.
“I love Tiger Serve Day. I think it’s such a great way for Ouachita students to get involved within the community,” senior, Kelsie Adcock said. “I had the privilege of serving alongside my classmates on a Speechie team. We were able to serve two sisters, Ms. Ina and Mrs. Mickey. We washed their cars, cleaned windows and raked.”
Each semester, the goal is to make Arkadelphia a better place and build lasting relationships.
“I loved being able to serve them physically, but we had the greatest time just sitting and talking about their lives,” Adcock said. “I remember them asking if we wanted a Sprite over and over. We kept saying no thank you until we realized that she bought them just for us. So of course, we all ran to get a Sprite after that. We had the best time, and they were truly a blessing to our team.”
In the last 20 years, volunteers have served more than 80,000 hours. Projects include raking, trimming bushes, cleaning out flowerbeds, washing cars, painting, washing windows and other jobs that can be done in three hours.
This semester Tiger Serve Day will take place on Saturday, April 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.. Teams may sign up to volunteer through Monday, March 28 at obu.edu/elrod/serve. For more information, contact Judy Duvall at duvallj@obu.edu.
By Amber Easterly, staff writer
