schwabk2@lopers.unk.edu

Lopers took to the Kearney community on Saturday morning for The Big Event. Students visited various local job sites and devoted four hours of the morning to picking up litter, yard work and landscaping among other tasks.

The Big Event was first held in 1982 at Texas A&M University.

The Big Event stands as the largest single day student-run service project that takes place across the nation. Annually students use this day to give service to their communities as a way of saying “thank you” for their support.

“There’s no UNK without Kearney,” said Gilbert Hinga, Dean of Student Affairs. “We are saying ‘thank you’ to our community today.”

The Big Event is the largest event that UNK hosts.

“Five hundred fifty students are going to be joining their respective organizations around the multiple job sites,” said Tatum Vondra, a student organizer for the Big Event. “I have been working with spreadsheets forever in preparation for this day. I can’t wait to see everybody and work together to do something good for our community.”

Students gave back at over 70 registered job sites.

 “This is a really good way to bridge the gap between the Kearney community and UNK,” Vondra said. “We are so lucky to have such a supportive community like Kearney at UNK that rallies around us and celebrates us. This community service day is our chance to give back to them and say ‘thanks.’”

This is a chance for students to be engaged in their community.

“The Big Event is an opportunity that we look forward to doing every year around this time,” said Tanner Ruda, Sigma Phi Epsilon president. “We love getting out into the community to make a big difference in people’s lives. It brings a smile to everyone’s face,  and we can’t wait to continue doing more community service opportunities like this one in the future.”