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Heart for community service leads MC students to the ‘Big Event’ on Saturday

ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏ students have built a strong reputation for community service. The Big Event provides another opportunity for them to enrich the community.

When it comes to serving their neighbors and furthering the cause of Christ, ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏ students are among the first to volunteer.

From 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, they will join colleagues nationwide in the “Big Event,” a large-scale community service project that brings university students together to help with various needs and projects throughout their communities.

“The Big Event began at Texas A&M in 1982 and had grown into a nationwide movement of student service,” said MC Big Event director and MC student Jake Perkins.

MC’s Big Event is being organized by MC students Chloe Mathias, a senior accounting major from New Orleans; Callee Gracyn Graves, a junior elementary education major from Purvis; and Perkins, a senior public relations major from Brandon.

“The Big Event returns to ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏ as a day of service and community,” Perkins said. “This campus-wide effort brings students together to support the Clinton and Jackson communities, reflecting MC’s vision of Christ-centered service and thankfulness.

“We are looking for the MC family to come together to make a lasting impact outside of campus.”

After witnessing how students at larger institutions pitched in to help improve their communities, Perkins, who serves as an executive director of MC’s Big Event along with Mathias and Graves, knew it would be a natural fit at MC.

“It was imperative to build an event not only for students to rally around service, but also to say ‘Thank you’ to the community, which is always there for us.”

Sponsored by J. Mignon Kucia, MC professor of communication, and Drew Ahlrich, MC associate director of admissions, the Big Event is open to any student, faculty, staff member or friend of ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏ who wishes to participate. A tailgate lunch will be served on the Quad at the conclusion of the Big Event.

Perkins said he can’t wait to see his university family join together to help the local community thrive.

“We are extremely excited to bring such a great event back to MC and to show the community just how much it means to us,” he said. “We want MC to give back to the community that has always been there for us.”

For more information about joining the Big Event at ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏ, email Perkins at jhperkins@mc.edu.