Spring Break
The Daily OrangeBig Event gains first sponsor
Price-Waterhouse to fund day of volunteering
By Brian Hayden
Posted: 4/10/08, 10:42 PM EST Section: News
Hundreds of students will be arriving at Schine Student Center tomorrow, rain or sun, awaiting their assignment to volunteer in Central New York.
Tomorrow is the fourth annual Syracuse Big Event, where nearly 400 SU students will venture out into the community to help those less fortunate. This year's theme is "Savor the Experience," emphasized by the Life Savers adorned - posters around campus created by the OrangeSeeds leadership team, who organize the event. This year's Seeds even handed out the candies at the registration table in Schine.
In addition to more volunteer sites than last year, Saturday's event is the first sponsored by a major corporation - Price Waterhouse. Jessica Nichols, a sophomore and member of the Big Event E-Board, said that the sponsorship eased the burden of financing the catering, transportation and other expenses.
"It really gives the students the opportunity to see how easy it is to get off of the hill and help others out," Nichols said.
She said she returned to OrangeSeeds because of the effect the Big Event had on her last year. It is especially meaningful because Nichols grew up in nearby Onondaga Hill. Last year gave her a chance to see the needs of the less fortunate in Central New York.
"I hope afterward students will keep in contact with those they helped out, so that they can volunteer there again in the future," Nichols said.
Registration is now closed and, due to logistical concerns, showing up as a "walk-on" without registering beforehand is discouraged. Michael Dolan, a freshman advertising major and a first-year OrangeSeed, said that volunteers can expect to be placed in one of more than 20 different sites in and around Syracuse. Many will complete yard work, painting and other maintenance tasks that would otherwise not be finished without the students' help.
Planning the event was no easy task and fell primarily upon the 22 freshmen OrangeSeeds and the E-Board. Dolan said he thinks the planning will help him with future events, too.
"It was a stressful but good bonding experience," Dolan sad. "We really got to know one another because of it."
Syracuse isn't the only school with a Big Event. The volunteering day originated at Texas A&M in 1982 and has spread to colleges around the country since then. Sarah Dane, a senior policy studies major and executive director of the event's e-board, said in the years she has been here the event has definitely grown.
"I found it to be my first opportunity to get off campus and do service," Dane said. "It is so important to have that chance each year, and I hope SU students will still have that opportunity for many more years to come."
bghayden@syr.edu
Tomorrow is the fourth annual Syracuse Big Event, where nearly 400 SU students will venture out into the community to help those less fortunate. This year's theme is "Savor the Experience," emphasized by the Life Savers adorned - posters around campus created by the OrangeSeeds leadership team, who organize the event. This year's Seeds even handed out the candies at the registration table in Schine.
In addition to more volunteer sites than last year, Saturday's event is the first sponsored by a major corporation - Price Waterhouse. Jessica Nichols, a sophomore and member of the Big Event E-Board, said that the sponsorship eased the burden of financing the catering, transportation and other expenses.
"It really gives the students the opportunity to see how easy it is to get off of the hill and help others out," Nichols said.
She said she returned to OrangeSeeds because of the effect the Big Event had on her last year. It is especially meaningful because Nichols grew up in nearby Onondaga Hill. Last year gave her a chance to see the needs of the less fortunate in Central New York.
"I hope afterward students will keep in contact with those they helped out, so that they can volunteer there again in the future," Nichols said.
Registration is now closed and, due to logistical concerns, showing up as a "walk-on" without registering beforehand is discouraged. Michael Dolan, a freshman advertising major and a first-year OrangeSeed, said that volunteers can expect to be placed in one of more than 20 different sites in and around Syracuse. Many will complete yard work, painting and other maintenance tasks that would otherwise not be finished without the students' help.
Planning the event was no easy task and fell primarily upon the 22 freshmen OrangeSeeds and the E-Board. Dolan said he thinks the planning will help him with future events, too.
"It was a stressful but good bonding experience," Dolan sad. "We really got to know one another because of it."
Syracuse isn't the only school with a Big Event. The volunteering day originated at Texas A&M in 1982 and has spread to colleges around the country since then. Sarah Dane, a senior policy studies major and executive director of the event's e-board, said in the years she has been here the event has definitely grown.
"I found it to be my first opportunity to get off campus and do service," Dane said. "It is so important to have that chance each year, and I hope SU students will still have that opportunity for many more years to come."
bghayden@syr.edu
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