Students from Stephen F. Austin State University are seeking opportunities to help the community during The BIG Event, an afternoon of service projects in the city of Nacogdoches and the surrounding county, on Friday, April 23.
The BIG Event, coordinated by the Office of Student Affairs and the SFA Volunteer Program, is a way for students to say "thank you" to the surrounding area for its support of the university. Nacogdoches County residents, businesses and non-profit organizations are invited to submit a Job Request Form for The BIG Event by Friday, March 19.
"The BIG Event, unlike many of our other service projects, is not based on socio-economic need," said Jamie Bouldin, assistant director for student life. "It's a way for students to show their appreciation to the community for all its help and support. We invite project requests from anyone who could use a couple of extra hands for an afternoon, no matter what their income level or status."
Project categories include, but are not limited to, painting, washing windows, cleaning, moving furniture and yard work.
A committee will look at all the job request forms and will be performing site visits for each project request to determine if the project fits The BIG Event standards. Each project should be able to be completed in about four hours by five to 10 students. In addition, the person making the request will need to provide as many of the supplies as possible.
"We're certainly not turning away projects when the requestor cannot provide all the supplies, but those where all the supplies can be provided will definitely take priority," Bouldin said. "We will look at each project on an individual basis and do everything we can to make it happen."
Not every project that is requested will be accepted for completion during The BIG Event.
"While we would love to accept all the projects, based on time and supply restraints, we simply will not be able to say 'yes' to every one," Bouldin said. "But we're going to accept as many as we can."
Job Request Forms are available at the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce and the Involvement Center in the Baker Pattillo Student Center on the SFA campus. Forms should be mailed to Jamie Bouldin, P.O. Box 13021, SFA Station, Nacogdoches, TX 75962.
For more information, contact Jamie Bouldin at jfbouldin@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-1088.
Axe ’Em, Jacks!