On Saturday, April 8, students, faculty, staff and alumni from Texas A&M University-Texarkana will show their appreciation to the Texarkana community during The Big Event: Eagle Pride City Wide, a day of community service.
Participants in The Big Event will complete “done-in-a-day” community service projects, ranging from raking leaves, washing windows, removing debris, cleaning closets, spreading mulch, painting and minor repairs, to organizing donated goods, participating in games and activities with senior citizens, tutoring children and completing other proposed projects.
The Big Event has become somewhat of a national phenomenon at a number of colleges and universities throughout the United States. It originated at Texas A&M University in 1982 when six students felt the need to give something back to the communities of College Station and Bryan, Texas. Since that time, more than 100 universities have joined the effort.
“The Big Event at Texas A&M University-Texarkana strives to uphold the ideals of unity and service,” said Michael Stephenson, coordinator of Student Life and organizer of The Big Event at A&M-Texarkana. “Our mission is to simply say thank you. It is a way for students, faculty, staff, alumni and families to express their gratitude to the community that supports Texas A&M University-Texarkana.”
Prior to 2017, A&M-Texarkana students participated in iServe Week.
“We saw a need to reformat the event to a big, one-day event where we could unite the entire campus community, not just students,” said Stephenson. “We are excited about the various projects we have secured so far. We have confirmed projects with both sides of Texarkana that include Kidtopia Park, Believe in Beverly Community Garden, Harvest Food Bank, Arkansas Animal Shelter, Bobby Ferguson Park and more.”
A&M-Texarkana is now accepting applications for work sites and sponsors for The Big Event.
“We have great opportunities for local businesses to be a part of this event,” Stephenson said. The deadline for sponsorships is March 24.
For more information, contact Michael Stephenson, coordinator of Student Life, at Michael.Stephenson@tamut.edu or (903) 223-1362.
For additional information, visit www.tamut.edu/bigevent.
