By LAUREN PAJAKOWSKI
Staff Writer
Spring has sprung at IU South Bend and with it there has blossomed a fresh new organization. Sisters Assisting Sisters (S.A.S) is one of the newest organizations on campus this year. As mentioned in their Facebook mission’s statement, their main focus is on forming relationships and bonds with fellow students as well as making a positive difference in the community. At just two-months old, that’s exactly what they’ve been doing.
S.A.S President and Creator Brikayla Hardy is a senior at IUSB and has been working on the creation of SAS for the past year. “I started S.A.S last year, but we didn’t have enough members so I took a break. I then re-wrote the constitution and got some new members and we’ve now been around for the past couple months.”
Now a 10-member organization, S.A.S has wasted little time getting out into the community and making a difference. “Our main mission is giving back. For Valentine’s Day we went to Morning Crest, the nursing home up the street, and spent the day with the residents and gave them cards.”
Another project S.A.S is working on is a clothing drive on campus. “We’re hosting a clothing drive for the Family Justice Center, for their victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Bins will be set up in North Side, Wiekamp, and the SAC. Any clothes that the Family Justice Center doesn’t accept will go to St. Margaret’s House.” The clothing drive will be going on from Tuesday, April 2 to Tuesday, April 14.
While S.A.S has made their main mission the community, they also focus strongly on forming lasting relationships. “We also do things like make shirts and have game-nights. While we’re trying to make changes in the community we’re also trying to develop more relationships in college students because a lot of people struggle with feeling comfortable with themselves and struggle to make associates. We want to be a positive outlet for our members.”
Hardy wants interested students to know S.A.S isn’t just reserved for women. Anyone that wants to help out in the community S.A.S is for you. “If there is something you see that needs to be done, or that we can improve, we can work together on making it happen. That’s what we do. We voice our opinions and come together on things all in an effort to better the community, help people that need to be helped, or just spend time with people who don’t receive enough attention.”
Anyone interested in S.A.S is encouraged to check out their Facebook page, under “Sisters Assisting Sisters” or contact Hardy directly via e-mail at brihardy@umail.iu.edu.
