Rachel Serrell – Staff Writer
University of Wyoming students have the opportunity to give back to the community this weekend.
The Big Event returns to Laramie Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This community-wide event gives UW students and faculty the opportunity to volunteer and give back to their community as they participate in service activities around town.
Alex Jacobson, Student Coordinator at the Center for Student Involvement & Leadership (CSIL), said, “The Big Event provides the unique opportunity to get students out of UW campus and into the community to help others.”
The Big Event was founded at Texas A&M University in 1982 and has expanded to more than 100 schools across the country, according to the UW’s Big Event website. It has even expanded internationally, to schools in Spain, Australia, Italy and Germany. The first event at the UW was in the fall of 2013, with about 300 students participating. It has quickly become a tradition to help kick off homecoming events. This year will be the seventh year the event has been held and organizers are expecting 1,000 students to join the service-oriented event.
Through this experience, Jacobson said she hopes students connect with residents and begin to understand they are a part of wonderful community.
Jacobson said after doing this for seven years, the community is aware and very excited about the event. Residents begin submitting job requests in August, and CSIL does site checks to ensure students are safe. After a certain number of jobs are met, no more requests are taken so that organizers can properly prepare for the tasks. Jobs can include a variety of activities – indoor and outdoor – such as fence painting, vacuuming and window washing.
“Raking leaves is popular this time of year,” Jacobson said. If you signed up as an individual, you will be assigned with a partner to complete your assignments, and organizers try their best to keep groups together, depending on size.
The event is only open for UW students, staff and faculty to register, and registration closed Oct. 7. For those who already signed up, be prepared to start check in at the Union on the Main Level at 8:30 a.m. Volunteers will receive their assignments and tools, grab some breakfast, and head on their way to help out their community.
