Issue date: 2/9/09 Section: News

Media Credit: The File [Click to enlarge]

Big Event organizers are hoping to recruit 12,000 student volunteers to handle an anticipated 1,300 projects on March 28 throughout the Bryan-College Station community.

The Big Event, the largest student-run, single-day service project in the country, has increased its attendance in previous years, and recruitment executive Mallory Myers, a sophomore political science major, said they plan to top the 12,000 mark.

The projects for the day are compiled through job-request forms that can be submitted by any member of the Bryan-College Station community that are not students at Texas A&M.

Big Event staff review the submitted forms. Staff members visit the homes and meet the residents. Jobsites are assigned according to group size.

The assigned jobs vary in level of difficulty, with the most common ones being raking leaves and washing windows.

"It was fun when you do it with a group you know," said Laura Waygood, a junior industrial engineering major. "It was fun, and you feel like you are actually helping the community."

Involved students also often get the chance to talk with and learn from the people they are assisting.

"We had lunch with an Ol' Ag and he told us great Ol' Ag stories," said Danny Bauer, a junior mechanical engineering major. "They were a really kind couple and really appreciated what we did."

Job requests, though, range farther than yard work. Previous job requests have included scrapbooking with a woman and playing bingo with nursing home residents.

"I think jobs like this are what define The Big Event: we do not do jobs based on what we think people need," said Kendra Eggleston, Big Event outreach executive and junior psychology major. "It is never based on socio-economic need, and some people tend to miss that. These people are reaching out to us to come fill a need that we may not be able to see at face-value, and we are more than willing to reach out to them and make a connection with them, even if it is only four hours on one Saturday out of the year."

The effects of the single-day service event stretch far beyond the limits of a 24-hour period. Community members feel truly appreciative of the acts completed, and students come away with a new appreciation of helping their neighbors.

"I think that just being a part of the residents of Bryan-College Station's lives makes the most difference," Myers said. "It's not about the number of windows washed or leaves raked or even about how many students participate on the day of. It's about the relationships we develop with the residents by showing our appreciation for their role in our lives whether they know it or not."

The concept of a student-run service project has spread far beyond A&M, as many other college campuses have instituted similar projects.

John Lake, a sophomore meteorology major, said Big Event has become a program capturing the Aggie Spirit. "It was one of those trend-setting traditions that sparks other such projects across the nation," he said.

How to take part
Volunteer applications for student organizations, faculty and staff, and individual students are now available. Applications can be accessed at http://bigevent.tamu.edu/ and must be submitted by Feb. 27.

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