Emerging opportunity
First Tuesday's biggest service day of the year is looking for a few good volunteers.
Baton Rouge residents have a chance to make a difference this summer, and the price of admission is nothing more than some time and a little sweat.
First Tuesday, the volunteer initiative that sends Baton Rouge businesses and residents into the community one Tuesday a month, is back for its biggest annual project: the Emerge School Beautification Day. Emerge educates students with autism spectrum disorder—and it needs the kind of facelift that doesn't happen on a school budget.
On Tuesday, July 7, volunteers will paint classrooms, power-wash walkways, make repairs and tackle whatever else the campus needs before students return. The scope is big enough that First Tuesday added a Monday, July 6 prep day—sorting supplies, staging materials and setting up work areas so Tuesday can move fast.
It's also a reminder of something easy to take for granted: a community runs better when showing up for it isn't reserved for personal time. More Baton Rouge businesses are giving employees paid hours to volunteer instead of treating service as something squeezed in after work, and projects like this one are the result.
You don't have to do both days, and you don't have to do all day. An hour helps. A crew helps more. Sign up for Monday prep or the July 7 service day. Learn more about First Tuesday here.
