Every year, students and faculty come together to donate their time and service to the communities of Hammond and Ponchatoula in the BIG Event.

The 10th Annual BIG Event will be held on Mar. 28 at 8 a.m., and the rain date is scheduled for Apr. 4 at the same time.

All participants will receive a free T-shirt, and breakfast and lunch will be served.

Karley Bordelon, president of the Student Government Association, explained how groups can sign up to be a part of the BIG Event.

“They can visit southeastern.edu/sga and click the tab on the left labeled ‘BIG Event,’” said Bordelon. “All students will be required to join a ‘Team’ and fill out a waiver. If a student does not have a team to join, they can join the team labeled ‘Lion 1’ and meet some new Lions.”

Bordelon mentioned that for this year’s BIG Event, she hopes to see an increase in participants compared to previous years.

“It is our 10th Annual BIG Event, so we have definitely upped our goal for participation this year,” shared Bordelon. “It is such an impactful event, so we want to make sure every student possible has the opportunity to get involved and serve our community. We are aiming for 1200 students to register and 50 job sites throughout the community.”

In addition to volunteering as a part of the BIG Event, students can help in other ways, including helping the committee with setting up.

“We have a BIG Event Committee that is under our Director of Traditions, Jacob Deliberto,” stated Bordelon. “He has assigned a BIG Event Coordinator, Margaret Romano, and many other amazing students to help organize this event successfully. We are always in need of helping hands to set up the day before and the day of the BIG Event, so feel free to email [email protected] to sign up to help.”

Bordelon explained that the BIG Event helps to strengthen the bond between the student body and the community that surrounds the university.

“The BIG Event is so important because it brings together a diverse group of students to serve together, as one school,” commented Bordelon. “It is a chance to make new friends, serve those in need and get inspired to continue to help out around the community. Every year, non-profits that we serve are so grateful that they have so many helping hands to get tasks done in one day that might typically take a week. It is powerful to see so many students giving their time and energy to come together to make a difference.”

Anyone looking to participate in the BIG Event as a volunteer or to register a job site can sign up through the form at southeastern.edu/sga.