Lion Up for Service - Big Event 2016

Southeastern students gather in the Student Union prior to the Big Event, a day in which students give back to area communities. The Big Event is sponsored by the Student Government Association.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016 


 

Approximately 600 Southeastern students put in a day of community service in the City of Hammond and nearby communities on Saturday (April 23) as part of the university’s sixth annual 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 SGA President Alexis Quakenbush. 

“You are definitely making a difference in our community,” Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Jim McHodgkins said to the students assembled in the Student Union mall before going to their assignments. “You are showing our residents the Southeastern spirit of giving back.”

The students included individual volunteers and representatives of several student organizations and worked at sites such Zemurray Park, the Iowa Neighborhood Association, several Hammond fire stations, Special Olympics, Child Advocacy Service, First Christian Church and the Southeastern campus among others.

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.

“We’re so pleased with the work these students have done in the church and on the grounds,” said Lorraine Faust, treasurer at First Christian Church who worked with the students. “This is the second year we’ve had the Southeastern students, and they are a big help to us. Everything just sparkles.”

Faust said the church tends to have an older congregation, so the volunteer help by the students is greatly appreciated.

“They did a fantastic job,” said Capt. Bryan Needham, after looking at the shinning fire truck the ladies of Alpha Omicron Pi had just cleaned and polished. “Their work is much appreciated.”

The Big Event was originally scheduled in March but was postponed due to inclement weather.

 

Big Event 2016

ALL CLEAN AND POLISHED – The ladies of Southeastern Louisiana University’s chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi pose on the Hammond Fire Department’s SLU fire truck after putting in a morning washing and polishing the vehicle. Their efforts were part of the Student Government Association- sponsored sixth annual Big Event.

 

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