Dear Community,

Since our last update, we have released the 2nd issue of Lafayette Kid News! This issue featured a new Kid of the Quarter, a delicious recipe, more sports, hobbies, poems, puzzles, jokes and art, some very creative comic strips, a local business spotlight written by our editor, 9 year old Audrey, and much more!

We have enjoyed going out into the community to reach even more people by setting up a booth at Fit Fete Fusion downtown where we handed out newspapers and conducted a “summer poll” with the results displayed in this second issue. We also had a booth at Rockin’ on the Runway where we conducted a “back to school poll”. These results will be in our upcoming 3rd issue.

We are excited to announce that we have changed printing to a local company, The Advocate! This has helped lower the printing cost and eliminate shipping cost, but most importantly, support local businesses.

This second issue was once again fully funded by our “giant check” winnings from the 24 Hour Citizen Project and the generous donors. We are still pinching ourselves over this incredible opportunity and forever grateful for all the backers who choose to be a part of making our home a better place.

Our 3rd issue will be released on August 1 and will be the first issue containing advertisements and sponsors. This will help keep the newspaper free beyond our initial one year goal.

Excited to see what the future holds for LKN. Now go and get a kid to submit!

Sincerely,
Audrey, Luke, & Layne Dupre
Team Lafayette Kid News

Dear Community,

F.O.O.D. Acadiana is excited to share a fresh update on our community fridge initiative! Since our last check‑in, two new fridges have been successfully completed and are already making a meaningful impact. The Christian Life Center fridge was completed on March 28 as planned—developed in partnership with the Brandon Mason Project—has been an incredible success, with steady use and strong community engagement. The church congregation pitches in to make sure the fridge stays stocked and Likewise, the Raccoon Oak Farm Community Fridge, coined “The Breaux Bridge Giving Fridge”, is thriving thanks to the ongoing care and stewardship of neighbors who have embraced it wholeheartedly. Breaux Bridge residents are stopping by multiple times a week to deliver goods and clean the area. Both fridges are operated via solar energy, courtesy of The Footprint Project.

Christian Life Center and The Breaux Bridge Giving Fridge are being maintained by the community neighborhoods at large, which is exactly the kind of shared responsibility and mutual aid this project was designed to inspire. The consistent inquiry about donations, delivery, cleaning, and monitoring happening at each location speaks volumes about the commitment of those involved and the real need these fridges are meeting. During Festival International, we were able to save 1500+ plates of food from rescues, and these fridges certainly came in handy at that time to feed those in need. This is a vital community resource.

Looking ahead, we’re currently in active conversations with the Thensted Center in Grand Coteau. Mockups for a fridge build have been sent. On a side note, we’re also exploring an additional grant opportunity with them that could help bring yet another F.O.O.D. project to life! The enthusiasm from their team has been encouraging, and we’re optimistic about what this partnership could become.

As for our fourth location, we have found one but it is still in the beginning phases of negotiation.. Footprint Project is willing to donate two more kits to us and the contractors that helped build the Christian Life Center Fridge will return for this build when we are ready. We are aiming for late July to begin building at this location.

Thank you for your continued support, collaboration, and belief in this project. Every fridge built is a testament to what we can accomplish together, and we look forward to sharing more progress soon.

Dear Community,

Wow! What can I say other than how blessed I feel about this whole project. It truly took a community AND some good fortune to make this event a success: from the seed funds from 24 Hour Citizen Project, to my friends who volunteered and helped, to strangers who bought passports and also did whatever was necessary to make this a success, to Festival International volunteers and staff who were tremendous, to the vendors who really gave it their all and were so easy to work with, to the Divine help in keeping the rain away!

Positives and Negatives:

The event took place on the Tuesday before Festival International. The street was blocked off from the morning so it allowed me to start setting up and getting ready without having to rush. I had one of my paid helpers not show up at all, so that put a bit of strain on me and the other person I hired to help, but Festival International staff came to the rescue and kept everything smooth and not rushed.

I met multiple times before the event day with the vendors to make sure they can visualize and truly understand what the day would look like, what they would need to bring, their responsibilities and for them to feel like they are all part of this team and project. I think these meetings were crucial.

I had all my signage, plate-ware, passports and stamps ordered and ready weeks beforehand. Glad I did, as some things still didn’t get to me until a few days before.

We were set up for NO CASH and only credit cards to simplify things BUT I should have tested the app (Square App) and the phones again the day off. Right before everyone got there, we realized the tap to pay option was not going thru, even though I tried it 2 days earlier. My ticket salespeople had to manually enter the credit card numbers which slowed down the process. Luckily it wasn’t a huge problem, but my goal was to not have lines at all for tickets. Lesson learned.

I also learned that I need to find better ways of getting the word out to those who might be interested in events like these. Quite a few people have approached me after the fact saying they wish they knew about the event. So I need better pre-event communication.

But overall, people thought it was great and want me to do this again next year. They loved that it was not an event with a large crowd, so I plan on keeping it at around 250-300 people next year.

Dear Community,

Since our last update, we’ve spent a lot of time listening, observing, and researching how chess is already showing up across Acadiana. What we’ve discovered is exciting: Lafayette is blooming with opportunities to play. From the Breaux Bridge Chess Club to casual games at the new Sojourn Tea and Carpi Diem Cafe, there seems to be a new place to find a chessboard every week. If you’ve ever been curious about learning the game, there’s never been a better time to be a chess player or a beginner in Acadiana.

One of our favorite moments came during Festival International de Louisiane. While enjoying the music and energy of downtown, we found ourselves playing a game of chess on a cardboard box with a vendor from New Orleans. Throughout the festival, we spotted chess sets and pieces for sale in all kinds of creative shapes and styles. It was a reminder that chess, much like music, is a universal language that brings people together.

Our biggest effort since winning the 24 Hour Citizen Project has been researching the best locations, dates, and times to host pop-up chess events. While we originally hoped to move a little faster, we’re being honest when we say life sometimes gets in the way. Between work, family, and everyday responsibilities, progress took longer than expected.

But that delay also taught us an important lesson: before making our first move, we wanted to understand the board. Taking the time to research and build relationships has helped us better understand where this initiative can have the greatest impact.

As a result, we’re excited to share that 64 Squares of Lagniappe is ready to make its debut. Our next phase focuses on launching pop-up chess experiences throughout downtown Lafayette to build awareness, gather feedback, and grow a community around the project before pursuing a permanent installation.

Our timeline has shifted slightly, but our vision remains the same: creating welcoming, accessible spaces where people can connect through chess. Budget projections remain on track, and we’ve identified new community resources and partners who share our enthusiasm for expanding chess opportunities throughout the region.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned so far, it’s that Acadiana is more ready for public chess than we ever imagined. The pieces are already moving. Our job now is to help bring them together on the same board.

Thank you for continuing to support 64 Squares of Lagniappe. We can’t wait to share what’s next.

Warmly,

The 64 Squares of Lagniappe Team

Dear 24 Hour Citizen Community!

First of all, thank you so much for believing and funding the Global Bites vision.

More than ever, I think we need this to celebrate our local international communities, their food and culture.

The event is still scheduled for Tuesday, April 21st evening on Polk Street right by Parc Sans Souci.

Since right after I found out that we won the funding, I have been working on logistics and planning. I have had meetings with Festival International, LPD, Fire department, Coca Cola and DDA among others to keep things moving forward.

I have an amazing small but powerful team (Marissa, Faryal, Moussa, Geoff & Remil) who have been a huge help in advising and guiding me. We have been meeting regularly as well.

I have reached out to some communities and we are already at 9 cuisines! Was hoping for 8-10 and think I will stick with max 10 cuisines to make sure everyone makes money.

I will be ordering the passports (your entry ticket to this event) next week and am starting to order other products (passport stamps, plateware, signage) in the next 2-3 weeks.

Just wanted to give you guys a quick update,

—
Merci,

Sami Parbhoo

Since our last update, meaningful progress has been made toward launching Certify Teens, a workforce readiness initiative designed to remove barriers to life-saving and job-ready certifications for youth across rural Acadiana. Over the past several weeks, we finalized partnerships with training providers, confirmed host sites, secured instructor availability, and completed planning for our first certification session. Our first CPR and BLS class is scheduled for March 19th in partnership with New Vision Leadership, where we will certify 25 high school students.

This phase of the project has also been marked by deep loss. Our team and the broader Acadiana community recently lost Stephanie Smallwood, a valued team member and board member who was integral in helping bring this initiative to life. Stephanie was a true force in our region and was widely known for her powerful on-air presence, her unwavering commitment to community engagement, and her willingness to show up and support initiatives like this one. Her impact extended far beyond the microphone, and the community truly lost a legend. Certify Teens will move forward in her honor, carrying the spirit of service, connection, and empowerment that she embodied so well.
In addition to the March CPR training, we remain on track to host both CPR and ServSafe Food Handler certification sessions during the upcoming spring break at partner sites in Eunice, New Iberia, and Lafayette.

These goals include certifying 90 youth ages 14 to 19 during the pilot phase, integrating soft skills training, and using interactive, hands-on instruction to build confidence and self-reliance. We have also established a new goal of collecting employer feedback by interviewing 90 local businesses to better understand the skills and credentials that increase a teen’s likelihood of being hired.

One lesson learned during this phase has been the importance of pacing and coordination. Aligning schedules across schools, instructors, and youth-serving organizations required more time than initially projected, but this adjustment strengthened the program’s foundation and confirmed the value of strong partnerships. While the loss of a key team member has been difficult, we remain committed to completing this work with care, intention, and excellence. We are grateful for the continued support that allows Certify Teens to move forward while honoring the past and building opportunity for the future.

Dear Community,

We are beyond excited to share that the 1st issue of Lafayette Kid News was released on February 1st!!! This first issue featured our creator and editor, Audrey Dupre, as the Kid of the Quarter, along with a letter from the editor sharing how this newspaper came to be through the 24 Hour Citizen Project and generous backers. We also had a 4th grade class contribute poems, a boy submitted a recipe for French toast, lots of sports stories, a gallery of artwork, an advice column, funny jokes, some holiday specific puzzles and games, community service stories, and a full calendar of events. The local talent and creativity of our youngest citizens was on full display.

Currently, this newspaper is available to pick up or view at your local public libraries, Children’s Museum of Acadiana, Lafayette Science Museum, Sunday’s Soda Fountain, Southern Speech, Coreil Orthodontics, Delarue Dance Centre, and several LPSS elementary and middle schools. We are continuing to expand to other locations – so stay tuned to our social media for updates.

Since beginning this project, we have learned so much and continue to learn new things daily. Printing and shipping 1500 copies of this first issue cost $1500. We are currently working on finding a local printing company to decrease the shipping and overall cost. We have also begun discussing advertisement and sponsorship opportunities with several kid-friendly, local businesses to keep this newspaper going long term. Lastly, we are working on establishing the LKN as a nonprofit organization.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and we are so thankful for everyone’s kind words, encouragement, and praise. This project would not be possible without the kids submitting content and backers support. The Lafayette community is filled with incredible individuals and we are so happy to call this place home.

Be on the lookout for our next 3 issues being released on May 1st, August 1st, and November 1st and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates.

Sincerely,
Audrey, Luke, & Layne Dupre
Team Lafayette Kid News

Dear Community:

Team F.O.O.D. started the 24 Hour Citizen Project with a big goal in mind: establish three more free fridges and pantries (otherwise known as Freedges) in the Acadiana area. With the help of local resources and the funding provided by 24HCP, we were actually able to set out FOUR new locations for community fridges! Amazing!

The process of setting up a new fridge is quite lengthy. First, we have to find a willing sponsor to allow F.O.O.D. to place a fridge on their property. We must come to an agreement and establish guidelines with new fridge hosts, and line everything up legally for the fridge, structures, and hosts to be protected. Then, we must gather all the materials and set up a date with contractors to build shelters for the fridges. Lastly, it’s build day… we like to make it a big event when a new fridge is constructed, because it is a huge gift to the community!

Fridge #1 will be the Christian Life Center Community Fridge, located outside the church at 411 Verot School Road. This fridge will be run in part by The Brandon Mason Project, another wonderful local nonprofit. So far, we have had a fridge donated by Foodies of Lafayette, and we are scouting for materials. The build day is set for March 28… make a note! More details to follow. Side note: The Brandon Mason Project would like to involve the youth in decorating the fridge enclosure. We happen to love that idea!

Fridge #2 will be located in Breaux Bridge at Raccoon Oak Farms, which has all the supplies ready to go and is just awaiting their contractor. The build date is still to be determined, but we are aiming to have this fridge up and running before Festival Internationale 2026.
Fridge #3 will be at Grand Coteau’s Thensted Center, at 268 Church St. We will be reaching out to continue the process once the first two fridges are built, in early April.
Fridge #4 does not have a set location just yet, but it will be located as closely as possible to the Evangeline Thruway; any blocks of Willow, Moss, and the Thruway motel streets that would allow for safe pedestrian passage would be ideal.

Those are all the updates we have for now, Community, but rest assured that Team F.O.O.D. is working tirelessly to see these fridges come to life. Thank you for your love and support, check in with you soon!