Students, faculty and alumni from both the University of Alabama and Louisiana State University will meet Sunday in New Orleans to complete a service project designed to improve the facilities of the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Louisiana.
Participants from the two schools will assist with painting, planting trees and cleaning, among other activities, said Wahnee Sherman, director of UA’s Community Service Center.
“This year, with our opponent being from the SEC and so close to the bowl location, it was a natural fit to work with LSU on a project in New Orleans,” she said. “I also think that, in this year of a major natural disaster in our own community, we are all more aware of the importance of making a positive difference in the community after so many people came to the aid of Tuscaloosa after our tornado in April.”
The service project will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Louisiana, located at 1140 S. Broad St. in New Orleans, with check-in and lunch beginning at noon.
Participants from UA must pre-register online at www.volunteer.ua.edu by clicking the Allstate BCS National Championship Service Project icon. Space is limited to 200 volunteers from each university.
Sherman said she hopes UA students will see how they can, in a few hours, make a positive difference in a community while working together with other individuals.
“So many of our students have given so much to our community since the April tornadoes so they have seen the benefits of service to them and the community they serve,” she said. “This will be a way for us to pay that positivity forward to another community that has been impacted in recent years by a natural disaster.”
Andres Mendieta, student director of volunteer outreach and public relations at the CSC, said he hopes students who participate can really get a feel for the issues that still plague the New Orleans area.
“Tuscaloosa was certainly hit with its own tragedy back in April, but I know there are certainly students out there that have no idea of the long-term damage Hurricane Katrina caused,” Mendieta said. “I hope students can gain some perspective on the plight that will forever haunt the New Orleans area and that it will ignite further efforts by the students involved in this individual project.”
Sherman said she thought it was important to complete projects such as Sunday’s Allstate BCS National Championship Service Project because, with sports, students and fans can sometimes get caught up in rivalries and the negative aspects of sports.
“Having students and fans from the two institutions come together to make a positive difference in the community through service shows the positive difference that sports can make in an area,” she said. “On Monday night, everyone will be showing their school pride and cheering for our teams, but on Sunday we can all come together to positively impact New Orleans.”
Students looking to volunteer before classes begin on Wednesday can also do so on campus Monday, Jan. 9, as volunteers will work from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Ferguson Center Plaza. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. and activities for the day will include tornado debris removal and volunteering in area schools, according to UA News.
