On Saturday Nov. 7, the Student Government Association (SGA) hosted the 16th Annual Big Event across Monmouth County.
The Big Event gives club and Greek organizations an opportunity to give back to the surrounding communities. The event is the single largest community service project that takes place at Monmouth University each year. Every fall, an estimated 400 students sign up and volunteer at one of the 25 to 30 Big Event work sites.
“The Big Event is such a great and rewarding experience for all students who decide to volunteer, giving back to the surrounding communities and having a day where so many students get active in helping out others is truly something special,” said Adam Schwartz, a senior art major who was representing Delta Tau Delta at the event.
Each work site had a Monmouth University student who served as a Site Captain. Their job consisted of contacting their work sites before the Big Event to review the information and assignments submitted on the application. Volunteers came to Monmouth University on the day of the Big Event starting at 9 a.m. to check-in and departed to their assigned work stations at approximately 10 a.m. The Big Event ended at approximately 4 p.m. or whenever the volunteers had completed the assignments given to them at their respective work sites.
The Big Event at Monmouth University showcases the overall sense of comradery of the student body and how various organizations and clubs all share a strong sense of dedication to community service work. It also demonstrates the importance of making an effort to reach out and help the surrounding communities in as many ways as possible.
Some of the locations that volunteers were sent out to lend a helping hand were in Asbury Park, Deal, Long Branch, Ocean, West Long Branch, and Neptune. A few examples of the types of service stations that participants were assigned to attend were individual neighbors who needed a helping hand, community based agencies and organizations, local towns and municipalities, houses of worships, and local schools.
Matthew Spinelli, a senior a communication student said, “I think that this year’s Big Event went great, by giving back to the community with events such as this can have such a beneficial impact to the surrounding communities. It is very exciting seeing this event continue to grow and be a huge success for all members of the Monmouth University student body. Today me and my fraternity brothers were one of the many Greek organizations that got active in giving back to the community and is something that we should all strive to take part in as much as possible.”
Matthew Spinelli along with his fellow fraternity brothers were stationed at “Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church”. At this site Delta Tau Delta spent the day working on the facilities garden where they grow various vegetables and other produce, which they go on to distribute to members of the community that are in need. Their afternoon consisted of getting the garden ready for the winter months by clearing the soil along with winterizing and organizing the gardens facility. Jen Compagni who oversees the garden was delighted to see so many familiar and returning faces from Delta Tau Delta since they happened to be stationed at the garden during last year’s Big Event as well. Jen Compagni also took the time to state the importance of the garden along with taking a moment to express her gratitude and appreciation for the help and contributions the Monmouth University students were able to achieve throughout the Big Event.
