Every Wednesday afternoon, Jacob Allen Nichols heads to the Baranco-Clark YMCA to host Live2Serve, his personal project in the downtown area since 2011. The nonprofit organization strives for authentic investment in Baton Rouge youth through interaction and play.
It all began when Nichols met 7-year-old Tyler one day at a gas station in 2010, during Nichols’ freshman year at the University. Over shared candy bars and soda, the pair developed a friendship, with Nichols acting as a mentor.
When Tyler told Nichols about his dream of playing baseball for the Houston Astros, Nichols was taken aback when he realized Tyler didn’t even own a glove, while Nicole himself had plenty of gear.
The two began meeting on Saturdays to play baseball. When he and Tyler’s regular game of catch at a nearby park grew to include more than 30 other children, Nichols invited members of his church, University Baptist Church, to join.
They dove right in, Nichols said, and the weekly event was soon termed Live2Serve. The meet-ups, however, lacked a proper place to be held they had been playing games in the streets near the Baranco-Clark YMCA.
In 2011, Nichols began hosting Live2Serve in the Baranco-Clark YMCA and from there, the organization blossomed.
Today, Live2Serve has nearly 3,000 University student volunteers throughout the year, Nichols said.
“College kids want to help, [they] want to do great things,” Nichols said. “Live2Serve makes that possible.”
Every Wednesday, Live2Serve volunteers walk through the neighborhood near the Baranco-Clark YMCA to pick up children who readily anticipate the event all week, said kinesiology sophomore and girls outreach director Brooke Holley.
While the weekly program consists of outdoor games, Bible study and crafting, all the volunteers agree it’s more than that.
Holley fondly remembers a moment in which one of the children, nicknamed “Lolo,” ran to her and told her, “You’re my best friend.”
“You don’t think you’ll make these close of bonds, but really, they remember you because they enjoy it so much,” Holley said.
Many of the children don’t have constant adult figures in their lives, and through Live2Serve have the chance to see familiar faces, kinesiology junior and director of volunteer outreach Elissa Nunnally said.
Through genuine, authentic relationships, Live2Serve reminds children they are cared for and pushes them to a higher standard in life and the classroom, Nunnally said. This dynamic not only helps the children, but changes volunteers as well.
As University students walk through the neighborhood to pick up the children or listen to their conversations, their eyes are open to a different world, psychology junior Allie Smith said.
When people of varying races, socioeconomic backgrounds and religious beliefs come together for two hours a week for simple fun, a powerful avenue for dialogue and understanding with volunteers and children alike is built, education sophomore Sarah Morgan Sivils said.
“Deep down, we’re all the same, and this is a step in the right direction,” pre-nursing sophomore Matthew Miller said.
While there’s negativity in everyone’s day-to-day life, Live2Serve gives its volunteers and kids something good within its walls, Nichols said.
“If you come into it with an open mind, Live2Serve has the power to change your life,” Holley said.
Live2Serve is every Wednesday from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. at the Baranco-Clark YMCA at 1735 Thomas H. Delpit Rd.

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Ashlyn Edwards

Live2Serve Social Card