When basketball player Blanche Alverson and majorette Sara Beasley met their freshman year at Auburn, they had no idea similar interests and passions would later unite them to make a big difference in a small community.
Being in the same sorority recruitment group brought the two women together. However, they would go their separate ways until more than two years later when Beasley decided to put her passion for education into action.
As a junior in elementary education, Beasley said her belief in the importance of reading and the impact it can have on all ages encouraged her to devote her efforts to establishing a public library for the Loachapoka community.
Beasley has known about the lack of library resources in Loachapoka for a while. She first noticed it as a senior at Auburn High School when she took the ACT at Loachapoka High School and realized there wasn't a library in the town to use for research.
"It just made me really sad to know that Auburn had a really nice public and University library, and Loachapoka didn't have a public library," Beasley said.
Four years later, she would begin her quest to bring books and higher levels of literacy to the people who live in Loachapoka.
Meanwhile, junior guard Alverson was focusing on making three-pointers and foul shots.
Since her freshman year, Alverson, who was recently named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, has had to learn to balance demanding basketball practices with her academics. Now in her junior year, she has added community service to the list.
Alverson decided to help Beasley with the library in Loachapoka because she desired to support a community that has supported her and her teammates.
"I've done a lot of community service with the team, but I wanted to do something where I felt like I was making an impact," Alverson said.
That's when Alverson decided to lead Ballin' for Books, a book drive that would be held before the Alabama and Ole Miss basketball games to benefit the Loachapoka library.
Being an Auburn basketball player helped Alverson because she could reach a large audience and have the support of her team at the same time. And just as on the court, her teammates had her back.
"Everyone was excited for Blanche's Ballin' for Books project," said sophomore guard Courtney Strain. "We all tried to help out the effort by telling our family and friends to donate their used and old books as well."
Alverson's experience with various community service projects with her team and Beasley's planning of the alumni majorette reunion last November helped prepare them for this new task.
"I had never really planned a huge event before," Beasley said. "I learned how to network and get in contact with people and stay organized, which taught me a lot."
Beasley has been working on this project since speaking with Loachapoka Mayor Jim Grout last fall. Grout was skeptical at first because of the existing library at Loachapoka High School and the bookmobile that comes around the town on Tuesdays, but after considering the educational benefits it would bring to the community, he said he couldn't help but come on board.
"The more I thought about it I realized, 'Now that is a darn good project,'" Grout said. "I thought Sara would probably succeed."
Along with gaining contacts and keeping everything in order, Alverson said leading a service project of this magnitude takes communication and leadership skills.
According to Alverson, the main task is to convey one's ideas effectively to others so they can believe in the mission. She said she has learned effective leadership skills which have helped her persuade people to donate books to her campaign.
Strain knows the impact Alverson can have both on and off the court.
"Blanche's leadership is what I believe makes her the great player that she is," Strain said. "She leads by example and has earned the respect of her teammates during her time at Auburn."
In addition, time management is a skill that both Alverson and Beasley have learned well through the experience of earlier pursuits.
"I just have to focus on practicing a lot for majorette, but also make time to study," Beasley said. "That was something that I really had to learn freshman year. I'm sure Blanche had to learn that, too, for being a basketball player."
Although Alverson and Beasley have given back to the University through their involvement, they have still made the effort to give to others outside of Auburn. They will soon see all their hard work pay off when the library opens to the public in mid-April.
"I'm just excited to see all the kids and citizens of Loachapoka that will be using this library," Beasley said. "Hopefully it will make a really big difference in their test scores at school and in the literacy rates in Loachapoka."
As donated computers, DVDs, books and educational materials are moved into three empty rooms of the Loachapoka Community Center, the people of the town can look forward to seeing their public library come to life.
"Having this available to the community without any restrictions on age will be a win-win situation," Grout said. "It will be good for the public; it will be good for Sara; and it will be good for the town."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
