UNK’s 20th annual The Big Event took place on Saturday. Students had the opportunity to serve the community by working on projects in the Kearney area.
Carly Gaedeke, UNK student government’s secretary of community relations, said The Big Event was a way to give back to the community.
“The Big Event is just a really great event for the Kearney community and UNK,” Gaedeke said. “The Kearney community gives UNK so much and provides a lot of good things for our students, so I think it’s very important to pay them back and show them that we are appreciative of everything they do for us.”
The Big Event is organized by UNK’s student government with help from advisers in the Student Engagement Office. Its core values are promoting service and unity.
Kate Roberg, Student Engagement’s communications coordinator, said that the event is important for both students and the community.
“I think it makes such a big impact,” Roberg said. “I feel like the current community does a lot for our students, so for our students to get to go out and help those that even just need a simple little project like raking their yard, it’s really rewarding for the students to get to go and help them in that way, and it makes them feel good afterwards.”
The Big Event originally started at Texas A&M University in 1982. It is now the largest one-day, student-run service project in the country according to UNK’s website. The day of service has been at UNK since 2006. Students who participate volunteer in a variety of ways, including picking up trash, painting, doing yard work and washing windows. The event is meant to benefit nonprofits, churches and community organizations in the Kearney area.
Renae Zimmer, Director of Student Engagement, said that the event would have several special additions for its 20th anniversary.
“We’ve got commemorative 20th anniversary shirts that we’re having made,” Zimmer said. “UNK Marketing and Communications has produced a video that we’re going to show at the event. We’ve had a business donate some ice cream to serve at the lunch afterwards, and we had Brewed Awakening donate coffee for the morning breakfast.”
This year’s event had 398 students participating as volunteers at 62 job sites across the Kearney community. Last year, 400 students participated at 80 job sites.
Zimmer said that planning for the event has helped students work together and gain valuable experience.
“There is a lot of behind-the-scenes that goes into it,” Zimmer said. “There’s a lot of leadership skills that are developed within student government and planning for the event. I think it’s a good shared experience that kind of feels bigger than our individual efforts.”
Gaedeke said that she was excited to see students collaborate to serve the community.
“It’s the 20th year for The Big Event, so I think that’s a pretty big milestone,” Gaedeke said. “It’s really great to see all these people come together and want to do a good thing.”
Photos by Maddux Essex / Antelope Staff
