SMU students of a new service organization on campus prepared for their upcoming day of service by registering students in Fondren Library Thursday, Feb. 14.
Alex Payne, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communication of The Big Event, explained the concept of the organization to newcomers.
“The most important thing for us is that it’s student-run,” Payne said. “If the event was targeted towards students a little more we could get more participation.”
The Big Event started at Texas A&M in 1982 and is in its 37th year of gathering students together to thank the surrounding community through acts of service.
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Maddie Jensen, Assistant Director of Logistics, emphasized that by participating in the one-day event volunteers will provide service among thousands of other students across the country.
“We are in the process of finding more community partners. I’m really excited about the Texas Trees Foundation—we’re gonna go to South Dallas and help plant 100 trees,” Jensen said.
The Texas Trees Foundation is just one of the many community partners working alongside members of The Big Event.
Darian Taylor, Executive Director of The Big Event, is hoping to work with 25 to 30 community service sites across Dallas.
“We’re going to Feed My Starving Children where we’ll be packing meals for hungry children and families,” Taylor said.
Students will also spend time with people who escaped domestic abuse violence through Mosaic Family Services.
The upcoming Big Event will feature a philanthropic speaker in the morning, a service project, and a recap of the day’s events.
The Big Hang marks the fourth and final event for The Big Event’s Spring Awareness Week designed to gear up for March 30 and get students to sign up.
Other events included The Big Plug to register other organizations to volunteer, The Big Pop featuring free Steel City Pops, and The Big Thanks in partnership with Operation Gratitude to write thank you cards to military personnel.
“We’re definitely learning, but it’s going really well,” Jensen said. “We have a lot more people signing up which is awesome and exciting.”
Registration to volunteer at SMU’s first annual Big Event closes March 8th.
