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January 13, 2015
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January 13, 2015
When the opportunity presented itself to help the people of her home parish, new Rev. Lloyd H. Wallace Community Center Special Projects Coordinator Heather Benoit said it was a job she was meant to have.
A graduate of Nicholls’ undergraduate elementary education program and post-graduate education program specializing in reading, the Thibodaux native has worked her whole life for the opportunity that is now in front of her.
“I’m very ecstatic, because I have always enjoyed serving the community and also being able to work with a variety of people, so I think that’s going to be a great thing that community will need and can benefit from,” Benoit said. “I can do a variety of activities and events that can actually help strengthen the community and help the others get involved.”
Benoit previously served as a teacher in Terrebonne and Assumption parishes and began at the Alidore area community center Dec. 8. She will be tasked with overseeing the development and implementation of programs to service children and adults of the Alidore community.
The 26-year-old has already made a positive impact – something that is no surprise to Lafourche Parish Administrator Archie Chaisson, who was very impressed, along with the rest of the interview committee, by Benoit.
“Having been a part of the interview process, I will say she definitely made an impression on everyone in the room,” Chaisson said. “Given her background in education and her experience organizing events and programs at the schools she’s taught at made her a person we were interested in having work for us. Everyone in the administration is looking forward to seeing what she does in her new role at the community center.”
The new special projects coordinator has been reaching out to different organizations throughout the parish that would like to volunteer and help out with the activities she plans on launching at the center.
The first project she would like to launch entitled “Beyond the Bell” will give Alidore area students a place to do homework and be tutored by volunteers, among other activities, after school.
“The mission that I really have for that community is to help the youth of the community develop their full potential. I want them to grow where they become successful and caring citizens,” Benoit said.
She aims to have this program ready by the time students return to school following the holiday break.
“I want to provide the children with a safe and enriching environment when they are dismissed from school,” an enthusiastic Benoit said. “Learning shouldn’t end at the dismissal bell; rather, it should be an ongoing process that can be continued at home.”
The special projects coordinator would like to have local high school and college students become affiliated with service organizations and serve as big brothers and sisters to children.
“They could assist them with homework, help them with studying and engage with then in hands-on activities as well as serving as role models for them,” she added.
Another project Benoit would like to begin in January would be the first of many community development projects. She envisions a community clean up day on a Saturday in January. These events would give Lafourche families an opportunity to mentor the youth.
“Some other things that I’m looking at doing are some community development projects, and basically they just consist of getting the families involved and having them establish a connection between the families and the youth,” Benoit explained. “Some things are kind of thrown around like a community clean up day, where they can get together, go through the area and clean up, pick up trash, recycle.”
Benoit expects to hold one community development project per month.
The Wallace Community Center is a 4,000-square foot building located at 3603 La. Highway 308 in Raceland. It cost the parish $1 million and opened its doors last year, featuring an auditorium, recreational space and meeting rooms. The center is also the site of a head Start program that provides low-income preschool students with classes, meals and health and social services.
For more information on the community center and the “Beyond the Bell” program, Benoit has created the following Facebook pages facebook.com/WallaceCommunityCenter and facebook.com/beyondthebellraceland.
Anyone interested in volunteering their help to the community center or the “Beyond the Bell” program is asked to email Benoit at benoithe@lafourchegov.org.
Special Projects Coordinator Heather Beloit grabs boxes of donated items to move into her new office at the Rev. Lloyd H. Wallace Community Center.
