On Saturday, Apr. 6 over 200 PennWest California students volunteered in the annual Big Event. The Big Event was originally started at Texas A & M in 1982 and has been a tradition on Cal’s campus for years. The community service day is sponsored by the Student Government Association (SGA).
The main focus and goal of the Big Event is community connectivity from the campus. From local businesses to local homeowners, the Big Event impacts more people than one realizes. This event is an opportunity to cultivate what it means to serve in one’s community.
With 37 sites signed up, the volunteers had their work cut out for them. The day of service started bright and early on a Saturday at 7 a.m. for SGA Senators and began at 7:30 a.m. for clubs and organizations that signed up.
Breakfast was provided to volunteers thanks to a generous grant from PSECU, California’s Credit Union on campus. Also, WCAL DJ, J Smooth, provided music while everyone enjoyed breakfast.
Big Event Chair and Student Government Vice President, Sarah Seader, coordinated the event. Sarah is a Senior pursuing Degrees in Management Information Systems and Management. She called out the site leaders and club/organization pairs one by one. On the way out, volunteers were able to take a pair of working gloves, a vest, and water. The gloves, vests, and garbage bags were donated from PennDot and the cases of water were donated by CalPepsi and CalPADining.
Generous donations were also received from: Giant Eagle in Bentleyville, Home Depot, Lowes in Washington, Krispy Kreme Donuts (gift certificates as prizes to volunteers), Target, and Sam’s Club in Washington.
With over $5,000 in donations, the 2024 Big Event had more donations and more sites than in previous years. Volunteers worked at the various sites until 1 p.m. Several students could be seen enjoying the day and connecting with the home owners and business owners.
Each year, the Big Event requires 100’s of hours of planning, with preparation starting in September of 2023 and final touches up until the day of the event. This year’s Big Event was sure to be one to remember.
The volunteers this year were amazing! With over 27 clubs and organizations coming together to make a difference, they were able to collect 285 bags of garbage throughout the California Borough!
A big thank you to the following organizations who took the time to volunteer: Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD), Alpha Sigma Alpha (ASA), Alpha Sigma Tau (AST), Cheerleading, Chemistry Club, Cosplay Club, Delta Zeta (DZ), Forensic Science Club, Gamma Sigma Sigma (GSS), GIS, Ice Hockey, Kappa Kappa Psi, Medieval & Ren/Fencing Clubs, Meteorology Club, New Life, Paranormal Society, Parks and Recreation, Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI), PTA Club, Robotics Club, Screen Printing Student Association, Sigma Tau Gamma (Sig Tau), STAND, Sustainability Club, Women United, and the Young and Gifted Gospel Choir.
The best part of the event, was the response from the community, where many sites had community members who contacted the call center stating how much they were touched that college students would take time out on a Saturday to volunteer.
Seader hopes next year’s Student Government The Big Event can be an even bigger success while continuing to partner and help support the local community!
