On a Monday evening, more than a dozen students piled into SLU vans with an assortment of hot dogs, hot chocolate, chips, sandwiches, fruits and other snacks, and headed to a “tent city” in downtown St. Louis. They brought food to the city’s homeless population in person, and have done so every Monday since then, said Kevin Garven, a senior, and one of three executive board members of the newly christened chartered student organization, Labré.
Garven, who initially participated in the program at his high school, St. Ignatius in Cleveland, first thought that L’abre was hardly more than a soup kitchen,
“From that very first time of going,” he said, “It was unlike anything I’d ever been a part of, in all of my volunteering. It was the most personal thing I’ve done.”
Labré is a national organization named after Saint Benedict Joseph Labré, patron saint of homeless persons. Despite recently becoming a CSO, SLU’s Labré chapter had been active for over a year, Garven said.
Although participants prepare and deliver food each week, the purpose of the organization is to bring friendship to the homeless, Garven said. He said that over time, participants build friendships with the homeless people that they see each week, and begin to look forward to seeing them.
“It means so much more that you’re talking with the people that you’re visiting each week, that you
remember each other and care about each other, than the fact that you brought a hot dog, or hot chocolate,” Garven said, “The food is more of just an excuse to come and visit.”
In order to join Labré, prospective members need only to ask Garven or another member of Labré to be added to the email list.
“The reason we have a sign-up is because we can’t have like a hundred people all go out and overwhelm the people that we see each week,” Garven said, “But anyone who wants to be a part of it is more than welcome to come out with us.”
The CSO, which initially reached students through word of mouth, is continuing to spread thanks for being chartered, said sophomore Curtis Bixenstine.
“We’ve had, since our CSO hearing, lots of senators emailing me to get on the email list,” Bixenstine said. Garvin said that the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity had also joined to do service for the homeless.
SLU’s chapter of Labré was founded because there was a need for it, Bixenstine said, and because of SLU’s commitment to service and the Jesuit mission. He felt that there could be a divide between the community on campus and St. Louis itself, but that Labré changes that, he said.
“I think there’s a disconnect with downtown St. Louis sometimes, especially if you don’t have a car, you can get in a bubble here, never leaving campus,” Bixenstine said, “When you get back from Labré, you know you’re doing something right—it just becomes a big part of your life.”
Although they find the homeless persons they visit approachable, members of Labré exercise caution in determining what locations they visit, Bixenstine said. Since the program’s inception, there has not been an incident involving safety, Bixenstine said.
“We really haven’t run into any situation to where any of us felt unsafe,” Bixenstine said.
In addition to the Monday outings, Labré holds fundraiser events near campus and collects donations for the poor. Labré held an event at the Moolah bowling alley last semester, in which the organization raised over $1,100 and collected over 200 coats and blankets, Bixenstine said. Labré also intends to collaborate with Program Assistant James Hillis of the Center for Service and Community Engagement this week on another project, Bixenstine said.
