Roux Brands has been a sponsor of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America for a few years now. It’s been an incredible experience to be able to help in providing the needed support to such an important after-school program. The Club gives students an escape for the hours following school. They help students with homework, serve them a small snack, and teach core values that help build strong characters. We are very proud to be a sponsor of this effort.
After being inspired by sponsoring the Club, we created a special volunteer program to provide an after school environment to foster artistic ability. ESTEEMed Art is a unique program that has been a hit with students for the last few years. In our most recent sessions we helped kids discover the values of cultural identification and emotional recovery.
Session IV:
For this session we chose Creole and Cajun foods as our theme. It was so much fun celebrating the uniqueness of our region’s cuisine. As participants painted their favorite food, we discussed what it means to be a part of such a unique culture. By the end each student had painted a very unique piece of artwork with a matching story.
Session V:
The program grew tremendously in this session. We were invited to participate in a public art instillation in New Orleans called FLAG (Katrina Remembrance). Monuments bearing 32 flags were erected on Jefferson David Boulevard at Canal Street. It was such an honor to participate. We asked our students, “What do you remember about Katrina?” Their responses reflected three common principles: Disaster, Flood, and Hell. The kids chose their themes, and as a result our FLAG bears the memory of the children of the historic storm.
Every November we get together to participate in the annual fundraiser Steak and Stake. It’s an opportunity for us to get together with the kids and share a great meal. Every year it continues to be a special experience for the staff. We get to know these kids personally for a few hours by participating in this dinner. The night gets especially fun when we get to post wacky photos with the kids on the big screen. It gets the spirits up and gives us a chance to get one on one with some of these kids. Check out some of the photos from this year’s event:
