University of Mississippi to host BIG Event

The University of Mississippi offers students a chance to be a part of the biggest service project that the campus has ever seen. Students are offered the chance to volunteer throughout the Oxford and Lafayette Co. community. The project hopes to build and strengthen relationships between the community and the students that reside within the community.

The Big Event will take place on March 26, 2011. The event hopes to start a tradition of volunteer work within the university. With over a year of planning put into this event, there is a lot of excitement brewing around this opportunity. “We are going to get some shovels and wheelbarrows and go into the community for some good community service” says ASB president, Taylor McGraw.

Students were asked to sign up via their My Ole Miss account. The deadline was March 4, 2011. Promotion for this event was shown through the Ole Miss website as well as Facebook; where videos were posted to advertise students willingness to help. These videos were presumably posted to spark other student’s excitement towards the project.

This opportunity for students to say thanks to the great community of Oxford is the first time anything like this has taken place. Other charitable projects on campus are focused on raising money for outside organizations, while this project is purely aimed at bettering the community that directly surrounds our campus.

At least 1,000 students will be a part of this project, says ASB advisor Melinda Carlson. One of the tasks at hand is to paint Faulkner Alley. Another task for the students is to spend time with some of the veterans in our community. The university hopes that students will realize how much the community of Oxford does for them, thus establishing a greater sense of gratitude for our students.

After the first week back from Spring Break, students will gather on that Saturday to begin the day of service. This project is meritless in the sense that there are no winners or losers. It is purely about the community. More information can be found via Facebook as well as the Ole Miss website.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/UM-BIG-Event/192641274085596

http://dos.orgsync.com/org/bigevent