On Oct. 2, members of ULM’s toxicology club, Tau Omicron Chi (TOX), volunteered
at Bawcomville Hope Church’s food distribution. Bawcomville Hope provides hot meals,
new clothes, hygiene products, food and water. TOX members loaded attendees’ boxes with necessities, packed goods in attendee’s form of transportation and served hot plates to those in need.
“We wanted to find other means of being able to lend a hand in the community, so we decided to branch outside of the campus and discovered that Bawcomville Hope does a food outreach every two weeks or so,” senior toxicology major and president of TOX Ty’Kiah George said. “We started doing this last semester as a means to help the community and I believe we have done a phenomenal of helping others in their time of need and raising awareness about the ongoing issue of homelessness here locally.”
Bawcomville Hope is a community organization in West Monroe that provides support and resources to those in need.
According to the church’s business information, they focus on cultivating a sense of hope and unity in the community. The organization offers various programs and initiatives to help improve the lives of individuals and families in the local area.
TOX prides itself on performing many community service events. Their goal is to give back to the community by lending a helping hand.
“When I arrived at the event, the only thing I could think about was how hot it was in the building and how much pain I was in that day. I was having a bad day and really did not feel like being there that day,” senior pre-pharmacy major Katelyn Smith said. “However, when community members say, ‘thank you for servicing our community’ or ‘I cannot express our appreciation to your club enough,’ it makes it all worth it. You forget that there was any negativity at all.”
Tau Omicron Chi is not just open to toxicology and pre-pharmacy majors, it is open to everyone.
“People should join TOX to be able to gain new perspectives on the field itself. TOX is not just geared towards pharmacy and toxicology majors. It is for everyone,” George said. “You can learn so much about the fields and its many subfields. Also, you find very valuable insights about how to navigate into the field itself.”
TOX teaches its members how diverse the field of toxicology is and its many opportunities to pivot into other subfields. The very family-oriented club loves to give back to the community with service projects.
“Tau Omicron Chi (TOX) was established in 1989 to strengthen public awareness of toxicology and the Toxicology program at ULM by offering a forum for the gathering of individuals interested in all aspects of toxicology and public health,” professor and TOX’s faculty advisor Shannon Banks said. “Members have the opportunity to participate through the coordination of toxicology-oriented activities designed to educate and benefit the community and ULM.”