Southeastern students participate in annual ‘Big Event’
Monday, April 10, 2017
by: Rene Abadie
STUDENTS LION UP FOR THE BIG EVENT – Southeastern Louisiana University students “Lion Up” before collecting tools and
supplies and heading out to job sites in the Hammond area as part of The Big Event,
a day of service to the community. The students worked on the Southeastern campus
as well as in area schools, fire stations and other locations as their way of giving
back to the communities that support them. This was the seventh year the Student Government
Association sponsored The Big Event.
SPRUCING UP – Members of the Southeastern sorority Alpha Sigma Tau pitched in to replant the
veterans’ garden at Holy Ghost Catholic School as part of the university’s community
service project The Big Event. Pictured are, from left, Samantha Messina of Loranger,
Taylor Roberts of Ponchatoula, Nina Begue of Luling, and Desiree Acosta of Destrehan.
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University students put in a day of community service
in the City of Hammond and nearby communities on Saturday (April 8) as part of the
university’s The Big Event.
Sponsored by the Student Government Association, The Big Event is intended to
give students the opportunity to help the communities and organizations that support
Southeastern in many ways, said senior Myranda Triche of LaPlace, student coordinator
for the project.
“The Big Event is an opportunity for Southeastern students to say thanks to the
City of Hammond and other area communities for the support they show for our university,”
Triche said.
This is the seventh year the SGA has sponsored The Big Event.
Sending the group out with a “Lion Up” sign of encouragement, Southeastern President
John L. Crain told the students that their efforts send a tremendous message that
Southeastern cares and seeks to make the communities a better place for all to live.
The students included individual volunteers and representatives of several student
organizations, fraternities and sororities. They worked at sites such as the Iowa
Neighborhood Association, several Hammond fire stations, St. Vincent DePaul Thrift
Store and Holy Ghost Catholic School.
Jobs included beautification and landscaping projects, clean-up efforts in downtown
Hammond, cleaning and polishing the city’s fire engines, sorting materials and conducting
inventory for non-profit organizations.
“This is the first time we’re part of The Big Event, and it’s wonderful seeing
these students working to help their community,” said Kristen Rimmer, manager of the
Fuller Center ReUse Store, a faith-based organization that recycles construction supplies,
building materials, and other items and depends heavily on volunteer help. “The students
have helped us organize our rooms and are helping with some of the painting.”
The Big Event was originally scheduled for March but was postponed due to inclement
weather.
