The beginning of the semester is always marked by the same events; freshman wandering around looking lost, breaking the promise to yourself that you wouldn’t drink on weeknights, professors taking a week off before the first exam (or maybe that is just exclusive to me), and joining every club possible in hopes of doing some good.

It isn’t everyday that an opportunity to step outside of the college community to do some lasting good comes along but thanks to the UNE NOLA Service Learning Club and club president Ashley Breault. I was lucky enough to get a chance to sit down with one of the most active club presidents on campus and pick her brain about this new club that has some big plans.

So tell me a little about yourself. What is your major, hometown, year, etc.

I am a junior Ocean Studies/Marine Affairs and Communications double major. I worked as an Orientation Leader this summer and helped with the Early College Program for high school students. I’m from a small town called Townsend, Massachusetts where I was involved in a lot of community service clubs and programs.

Where did the idea for a New Orleans based service learning club come from? How long has it been in the works?

Back in high school I was part of a New Orleans service learning club and I fell in love with that city and the whole idea of giving back and helping out the community. Last year my friend and co-president, Matt Desrosiers, who attended the same high school and was part of the same club and also goes to UNE, reached out to me and asked if he thought creating a similar club here at UNE would work and I thought it was a great idea. We waited until the start of this school year to start planning everything but once we both moved in, we went straight to work developing and organizing the club.

Rumor has it the club has done a great job with funding. What have you done to try to encourage donations?

I would say we are doing very well so far, but we still have a long way to go. I created a GoFundMe and it’s already raised a lot more money than I expect in less than a week. We plan on having a lot of fundraisers throughout the year that we hope the UNE community can attend, participate in, and potentially donate to. Our goal is to be able to host fun events, such as Pie Your Professor fundraisers or bake sales, that students would like to get involved in and help out our cause.

What would you say the club’s overall mission is?

The overall mission of the club is to spread awareness as to why it is important to get involved in service programs and to give back to the community. We want to share with the local community why it is important to continue to help out New Orleans even though it has been 10 years since Hurricane Katrina. We want to encourage more people to help out local programs and get more involved in their own backyards.

How can people get involved with your club if they aren’t already?

The club is still welcoming anyone interesting in joining, both people who would like to go to New Orleans and those that would not. We are always welcoming donations and support from everyone as well.

If you are looking to get involved with this wonderful club they have weekly meetings every Tuesday night at 9 pm in the Sutton Lounge in Decary. They will also be at Harvest Fest on October 25th working the craft table and selling refreshments from 10-1 so feel free to drop by and say hi. All proceeds go towards the club and their eventual trip to New Orleans. You can donate here if you don’t feel like rolling up your sleeves and you can like their Facebook page here to get all the latest information and updates about the club.

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