The Social Work with Communities and Organizations class at Louisiana Christian University is required to come up with a community service learning project as part of their coursework. This semester the students have chosen renovating the living area at the Hope House of Central Louisiana. 

 

“We wanted to create a space that was homey and safe and contributed to a better quality of life for the residents,” senior Sami Welch shares. 

 

“Even though it’s temporary housing, we wanted to create an atmosphere in the common space that felt like home. We wanted to create something we would want to relax in,” Abigail Johnson, senior, adds. 

 

“We did the shopping and created the design for the remodel ourselves,” says senior Gabrielle Colson. 

 

BSW Program Director Bobbye Roberts noted that the students were tasked with finding an organization, creating measurable goals to show the desired outcome, and creating a project to meet those goals. 

 

Elaina Kremer said the group decided to host a pickleball tournament to raise funds for the renovation. Kremer shares, “We recruited teams, got corporate and private sponsors, created raffle baskets of donation items we collected, and will sell concessions during the tournament to raise money.” 

 

Rionna Gallien, Emily Paul, and Jensan Kerbin, also seniors, explained how they spoke to their fellow students about homelessness as part of their required cultural credit while also hosting a bake sale during homecoming weekend to raise money for the tournament prizes. 

 

 

To contribute directly to the LCU Social Work Program’s fundraiser for the Hope House, you can make checks payable to Hope House of Central Louisiana, PO Box 7477, Alexandria, LA 71306. Make sure to include LCU Social Work fundraiser in the subject line. Or pay online using the following link: givebutter.com/PLAYFORHOPE. All donations are tax-deductible. 

 

Jeanni Ritchie is a contributing journalist from Central Louisiana.  She can be reached at jeanniritchie54@gmail.com.