Emma Caroline Brown

Editor

On Saturday, March 29, Mississippi University for Women’s Student Government Association hosted its first Project H.O.O.T., a community service workday that will now be an annual outreach event.

Project H.O.O.T., which stands for “Helping Others Out Together,” involves The W’s students and faculty working alongside community volunteers and local service groups to help those in need. Volunteers for the event worked with United Way, the Columbus Humane Society, local nursing homes and other volunteer-based groups to engage and help the Columbus community.

Ethan Wilkins, SGA’s 2025-2026 president, worked with his fellow SGA members and current president, Laila Wrenn, to organize and officially establish Project H.O.O.T. Wilkins, who attended the event and helped with on-campus projects, is excited to bring The W and the Columbus community closer through the work Project H.O.O.T. accomplished in its first year.

“The overarching goal was just to do service in the community and on campus,” Wilkins said. “By whatever means that was, we were willing to accept what there was and what we could find, but we wanted to help boost The W and SGA and give an opportunity to get involved.”

SGA’s goal was to have 50 workers for the various events, and this was accomplished by encouraging students, faculty, staff and community members to volunteer. Workers were divided into groups and assigned spots where they would work for a few hours, helping with community needs.

Some of the volunteers for this year’s Project H.O.O.T.
Photo courtesy of MUW SGA

Some students wrote encouraging cards, some helped restock “blessing boxes” with food and other essentials, while others played games with residents at local nursing homes or walked dogs at the local animal shelter. Part of Project H.O.O.T.’s purpose is to have volunteers do hands-on work to know they are making an impact in the community.

Davianna Brent, a junior graphic design student, worked on restocking “blessing boxes” and writing cards to veterans and nursing home residents during her volunteer time. Brent enjoyed her time working for Project H.O.O.T., especially since the workday’s atmosphere was based around getting others together for the community.

“It was really open since they’re doing community service and trying to give back to the community around us,” Brent said. “I got to meet some people I had never seen before on campus, and now I recognize them and see them a lot.”

Project H.O.O.T. brought students of all majors together with a common goal of encouraging others and lending a helping hand. The event is another boost in getting students more involved on campus by forging connections at The W and in Columbus.

Kaliyah Moore, SGA’s 2025-2026 media and graphics coordinator, helped advertise Project H.O.O.T. on campus by designing flyers and tabling outside of Fant Library. Moore’s involvement helped increase knowledge about the event, which motivated students to sign up. As for Project H.O.O.T.’s future, Moore wants to see the event grow and become even more interactive for students.

“This year, they did a really good job, and as the years progress, maybe we could have bigger events at the end,” Moore said. “We had food trucks this year, and that was really cool. Maybe one year we could even have a concert thing afterward.”

The outreach event’s kickoff year was deemed a success, and next year, SGA is aiming for more involvement on the student and community sides so that Project H.O.O.T. can create bigger and better impacts for The W and Columbus.

“What I hope is that we can get in contact with the Columbus administration to bridge some of these gaps and not be so isolated and have a relationship within Columbus,” Wilkins said. “We can show that we’re making an impact in our community and continue to advocate for our campus.”

For the event’s future, Project H.O.O.T. is planned to take place the weekend before The W’s annual Homecoming, which usually takes place the first weekend of April. If you are interested in volunteering next year, follow @muw.sga on Instagram for updates or look for flyers around campus starting next March.