The Big Event
The Big Event is one big day of community service in which the Southeastern Campus gives back to the surrounding areas of Hammond and Ponchatoula. The Big Event is different from other service projects because it is not based on socioeconomic need. The Big Event is a way for the entire student body and campus to express gratitude to residents who support them during their college career. Our local residents attend sporting events, donate to our college, and put up with the traffic and everything else that comes along with living around college students. Whether it is painting houses, raking yards, or laying bricks, the type of job is not important. The Big Event is not about the type of job we do or the number of jobs completed or how many students participate. Rather, it is the interaction with the residents and the resulting unity in the community that makes The Big Event so BIG!
The Big Event 2023 is scheduled for Saturday, March 25th, with a rain date of Saturday, April 1st.
Team and job site registrations opened on February 1st. Registration for both teams and job sites closes on March 17th.
Links to both the team registration and job site registration can be found on the left-hand side of this page.
History:
In 1982, members of the Student Government Association at Texas A&M University began The Big Event as a way to say “Thank You” to the surrounding community. In 2011, the first Big Event took place at Southeastern Louisiana University with 34 job sites and over 300 students giving their time to serve the community of Hammond, Louisiana. Now ten years, hundreds of job sites, and thousands of students later, the student organizers and participants are eager to serve the local communities like never before. As the project grows, the mission stays true: "Through service-oriented activities, The BigEvent promotes unity among campus and community as students come together for one BIG day to express their gratitude of the support from the surrounding community.”
What is the Big Event?
The Big Event is a day of service where students come together to complete tasks in the community to show our gratitude for all the support that they give us.
Where is the Big Event held?
Where do we meet the morning of the Big Event?
Participants will meet at Southeastern under the breezeway (commonly known as the "S") at 8AM the day of the Big Event.
How long does the Big Event last?
The Big Event starts at 8:00 am and ends after 12:00 pm. Historically, students will volunteer at a job site for 3-4 hours.
Will food be provided or should I eat before I come?
What do I wear?
Each volunteer will receive a Big Event T-shirt that you are encouraged to wear during the day. Teams do not know what job site they are going to until the day of, so we recommend wearing comfortable shorts or pants and tennis shoes.
Be sure to wear clothes and that you do not mind getting dirty, as some locations involve painting, planting, or cleaning.
What is a job site?
What type of tasks will I have to do?
