Despite its intentionally vague name, The Big Event a specific mission: to make Syracuse University students aware of what exists beyond campus.

Organized by OrangeSeeds, a first-year leadership program for SU and SUNY-ESF students, The Big Event is SU’s largest student-run day dedicated to community service. Every year, the first-year “Seeds” of the organization choose nonprofits in the Syracuse area to volunteer with. This year’s event will be held on Saturday.

The first-year OrangeSeeds students making what they want of The Big Event is part of the reason its name is so ambiguous, said Greg Mytelka, the organization’s community relations chair. A lot of people don’t know about nonprofits in the area, said Nyla Mulcahy, a Seed and communication and rhetorical studies major, and these organizations need volunteers to operate.

During the fall semester, OrangeSeeds members take part in weekly Saturday service events with the Seed class to bring them outside the bubble of campus and familiarize them with local nonprofits, Mytelka said. Planning for The Big Event begins at the start of the spring semester.

The freshmen are divided into three committees: logistics, which deals with transportation and coordinating locations for kickoff and registration; marketing, which uses graphics, flyers, social media and tabling to promote the event around campus; and community outreach, which secures partnerships with the nonprofits.

The Seeds recommend and present information about nonprofits in the Syracuse area that could be part of the service event, Mulcahy said. As head of the community relations committee, Mulcahy and her team did additional research to curate a group of nonprofits that serve different communities and offer a variety of services.

Fifteen community groups will be part of this year’s event, including Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, the Ronald McDonald House and Vera House, Mulcahy said.

“All of our sites are relatively right off campus, so you really engage with the outside community,” said Dibya Patnaik, a Seed and management pre-law major.

While long-term community service is still most effective and The Big Event is a one-time occasion, participants can still have an effect on the organizations and connect with people in the community, said Cole Massie, co-director of OrangeSeeds.

“The hope is that The Big Event inspires people to get back out into the community and do that long-term service,” he said.

The slogan for this year’s event — “What’s Your Why?” — encourages people to understand why they do community service. It brings a sense of mindfulness and reflection, Massie said.

The kickoff event for this year’s Big Event will be hosted in Hendricks Chapel, a central location on campus that houses the Office of Community Engagement. There will also be a “breakdown” after the main event to encourage participants to stay involved in community service rather than volunteer in The Big Event for a few hours and never return.

“We live on a very secluded campus,” Patnaik said, “and I think it’s important to embrace this opportunity and go out and learn and gain more perspective on the outside community.”

Published on April 16, 2018 at 8:51 pm

Contact Sandhya: ssiyer@syr.edu