The Black Women Leadership Association at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is conducting their “Revamp Your Crown” donation drive, where students can donate hair products that the organization will deliver to the Faith House of Acadiana. 

The organization is accepting various hair products, including but not limited to: shampoos, hair creams, conditioners, bobby pins, ponytail holders, combs and picks. 

According to Jasmine Broussard, BWLA’s community service co-chair, the reason why it’s important to have this drive for the women at Faith House of Acadiana is one feeling that all women should have with their hair: confidence. 

“I feel like it’s good to be confident in yourself,” Broussard said. “So to be able to help someone else feel good about themselves and polish their crown and revamp their crown, I feel like that’s a very easy thing to do, and I’m so happy that we were able to come over with a drive like this.”

Based in Lafayette, Faith House of Acadiana provides those involved in domestic violence situations with a safe haven filled with essential resources to help them recover. BWLA has volunteered at Faith House of Acadiana before and were more motivated to work with them after a previous BWLA member came from Faith House of Acadiana to talk to the organization. 

“I think just because the lady that did come was part of our organization, we wanted to give back to them. We do know that there are plenty of people that are closer to us that we may not know are experiencing these things,” Broussard said. “And we also want to spread awareness about the Faith House of Acadiana.”

After students donate the products, BWLA plans to create gift baskets with the products and deliver them to Faith House of Acadiana. The executive board of BWLA will be making the baskets to bring to the place. 

BWLA has been working towards revamping their organization, hence the name of the donation drive. “Polishing Your Crown” is the theme of the organization this year and their upcoming BWLA week, so they found it fitting to create a drive that aligns with that, according to Broussard.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and students’ fears of coming out of their rooms and being around other people, BWLA experienced a decrease in meeting attendees. Therefore, BWLA chose to undergo a revamping for the organization.

“When COVID-19 happened, a lot of our members stopped coming to the meetings because of safety precautions,” Broussard said. “We didn’t have as many people, so we chose this year to revamp.”

All students are encouraged to donate to the drive. They can find the donation box in the BWLA cubicles, and for BWLA members, every two items they donate will get them one service hour. 

The donation drive started on Sept. 19 and will be accessible until Oct. 2. On Oct. 3, the first day of BWLA week, the members will be delivering the baskets to Faith House of Acadiana. 

BWLA week consists of various events and activities for students to partake in with BWLA members. This year’s theme is “Polishing Your Crown”. 

“It’s a really good cause,” Broussard said. “And we really hope that we’re able to impact not only the students here but anyone in our Lafayette community by doing any of our events, so we encourage everyone to come and donate.”