St. Landry Chamber of Commerce Inaugural Leadership Class Announce Little Free Libraries Service Project

As the St. Landry Chamber of Commerce Leadership St. Landry Class comes to an end, the community impact and efforts of the graduating class are just beginning.  The Inaugural class of Leadership St. Landry recently completed a 9-month, in-depth course aimed at developing well rounded leaders by providing insight into the major industries affecting economic development and commerce.  They gained knowledgeable experience from the various panels, tours, keynote speakers, leadership development activities and team  building.   

One of the goals of the class was to select a community project that they could all be included in.  As part of their initiative to promote literacy in St. Landry Parish, they chose “Little Free Libraries”.  Little Free Library is a 501 non-profit organization that promotes neighborhood book exchanges, usually in the form of a public bookcase.  

Opelousas General Health System has partnered with the Inaugural Leadership St. Landry class to adopt three of the Little Libraries as part of their Population Health initiative.  Two Little Free Libraries have been placed at Main Campus and one at South Campus, with the intention of providing convenient, free access to literature to encourage reading, promote healthy living, foster a sense of community, and encourage positive family time allowing for parents or guardians to read to children.   

Old newspaper bins, donated by Eunice News were sanded, primed and painted by the Leadership St. Landry participants.  Two bins are located near the Gazebo at Main Campus.  One is filled with children’s books for early learning and leisure reading, while the other bin is filled with fictional books and health-related adult books to promote healthy lifestyles. These two bins are located near the gazebo at Opelousas General Health System’s Main Campus. The bin at South Campus contains both children and adult books and is located between the main entrance of the Medical Office Building and the Emergency Entrance.  This bin was created by the St. Landry Parish Youth Leadership Council, which is a select group of 11^th & 12^th graders enrolled in St. Landry Parish schools who work on community projects in conjunction with the St. Landry Chamber of Commerce.   

“We are very pleased to accept these Little Free Libraries to enhance our work with our Population Health initiative, said Tim Marks, BSN, RN-BC, Chief Populations Health & Clinical Integration Officer. “Our managers plan to monitor the bins to ensure that they are fully stocked with appropriate reading materials to nurture life-long learning and love of reading.  This is just another way that we are able to fulfill our mission of Our Family Caring for Yours”, he added. 

For more information on this initiative and how you can help the Leadership St. Landry Class in sharing this movement, contact shellyfontenot@opelousasgeneral.com.