NSU gears up for The Big Event – March 28

(Tahlequah, Okla.)--Northeastern State University will host its annual community service project, The Big Event, on March 28. The Big Event is a day of volunteerism in which the students of NSU are able to show their appreciation to the Tahlequah community by completing service projects both big and small.

The Big Event mission is to bring the campus and community together. Local businesses and residents of the Tahlequah community are encouraged to request a job to be performed by NSU volunteers. Jobs include anything from painting, raking, weeding, cleaning, washing windows, working school carnivals and much more.

Students interested in volunteering can sign up in groups or as an individual. Event sponsorships are also welcome.

A student committee runs the Big Event each year. This year the event is being co-directed by Taylor Melone and Maci Radebaugh, and other members of the committee include Ashlyn Reheard, Sierra Dorey, Conor De la Rosa, Jake Jones, Steven English, Tori Gleaves, Elizabeth Jones, Tarah Satterfield and Katherine Nguyen. This student team has been preparing for the event since the fall semester.

Through volunteering at the Big Event last year, I saw the impact it had on the community when we would do simple tasks, Nguyen said. I aspired to be a part of the Big Event committee to have a greater, more direct impact in orchestrating an event that is not only helpful, but touching the community around us. Through the Big Event I was given the opportunity to express my passion for community service, and through my work on the committee I hope to provide to my peers the opportunity to develop the same fulfillment of helping the community.

This year, the committee hopes to have at least 100 job requests submitted and to have a turnout of 700 or more student volunteers.

Dorey explained that although the community benefits from the Big Event, students receive multiple benefits as well.

Students don't realize how beneficial it is to serve those around them, Dorey said.College is a time where students grow into the adults they are going to be and participating in the community will help them grow in the process to be more selfless. It has changed me, and I hope it will do the same for my peers.

The planning committee hosted several events this semester to help with operating costs that included a volleyball tournament and a grilled cheese and soup dinner fundraiser.However, without the generous giving of NSU supporters and the local community, much of what The Big Event does would be impossible.

The money raised for The Big Event is put toward promotional items, recruitment of volunteer participants, resources for creating awareness of the event, and all necessary tools and supplies (rakes, shovels, paper towels, work gloves, T-shirts, meals, etc.) for the day.

Moving toward a self-sustaining event is another major goal of the committee. This year, the committee hopes that the Big Event fundraising efforts can bring in $6,000.

To make a monetary contribution or donate supplies to The Big Event, call the NSU Office of Student Activities at 918.444.2526.

For questions regarding The Big Event or to register as a volunteer, please feel free to contact the NSU Office of Student Activities at 918.444.2526 or email the Big Event directors, Taylor Melone and Maci Radebaugh, atbigevent@nsuok.edu.