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Posted: 3/12/20

TAMIU, City of Laredo Partner for 11th Annual The Big Event March 28

 

The Big Event 2019
In 2019, The Big Event volunteers helped beautify Ruthe B. Cowl Rehabilitation Center.  

Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) and the City of Laredo are gearing up for The Big Event, the University’s annual service event, happening Saturday, March 28.

NOTE:  THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE UNIVERSITY'S COVID-19 RESPONSE.

Now in its 11th year, The Big Event brings together the combined efforts of over 300 student volunteers working together to provide community service. Registration is currently underway at https://go.tamiu.edu/TheBigEvent-SignUp.

This year, TAMIU students, faculty and staff will gather at 8:30 a.m. at the Cielito Lindo Park, 5601 St. Isidore Ln. Their service will continue through noon.

Volunteers will be working with community partner Keep Laredo Beautiful on several projects including litter debris pickup along a five-mile stretch; painting block fences, picnic tables, concrete pads, and other areas of the park; restriping the basketball court; adding a fresh layer of mulch to the park’s playscape, and more. 

Participants also will work with the American Red Cross to help community residents install fire alarms as part of the, “Sound the Alarm, Save a Life” program.

Additional City of Laredo departments working with the University include Environmental Services, Parks and Recreation, Solid Waste, the Laredo Police Department, Laredo Fire Department, Animal Care Services, Community Development and Public Access Channel.

Organized through the Office of Student Conduct and Community Engagement in partnership with the Student Government Association, this year’s The Big Event at TAMIU is significant as it coincides with a 50,000 Service Hour Challenge observing the University’s 50thAnniversary year.

Student helps paint playground equipment at The Big Event 2019.
Painting playground equipment is one of several projects during The Big Event. 

To date, the student-led goal has completed 30,323 service hours during the 50thAnniversary year. 

“The community of Laredo has done so much for our University; it is the campus’s home, the place where we establish our friendships and partnerships, and the community that has given our students the skills to be better leaders. We, the students, have decided to organize an event where we can show how thankful we are to our community,” said Mariana Rodríguez, The Big Event team leader and student employee at the University’s Office of Student Conduct and Community Engagement.

Rodríguez continued, “Although this is a small action in comparison to what the community has done for us, we hope that it can impact the lives of young students, the same way it has impacted us. We are eager to work with Keep Laredo Beautiful and the American Red Cross to share with future Dustdevils the importance of values such as Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence, and Kindness.”

“The partnership with TAMIU has been a fruitful one over the years, and Keep Laredo Beautiful is only able to execute meaningful projects through the hands of its volunteers. What the students have done in our community is substantive place making, because it goes beyond a fresh coat of paint on a basketball court or a park bench, it touches so many of the park’s users. The children and families of each neighborhood where we enact a project reap countless benefits from the use of the playscape, the walkways, and the amenities. The energy and love that they bring to an area is felt and seen for a long time after they go back to continue their studies,” said Blasita Lopez, assistant director of Environmental Services and Keep Laredo Beautiful Coordinator. 

The Big Event began at Texas A&M University in College Station in 1982, and has since been adopted by dozens of universities, serving communities across the nation. Adopted in 2009 by the University community, The Big Event has quickly become one of the University’s largest service initiative. 

Since 2010, events such as The Big Event and Make A Difference Day have generated over 297,000 service hours with an in-kind monetary impact of $6.5 million. TAMIU has twice earned the Presidential Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll Award for exemplary community service programs and partnerships. 

Visit a dedicated site documenting The Big Event at TAMIU through the years at https://www.tamiu.edu/scce/madandtbe.shtml

For additional information, contact the Office of Student Conduct and Community Engagement at 956.326.2265, email scce@tamiu.edu or visit offices in the Student Center, Suite 226.

More of the University’s story is available on its website, tamiu.edu and dedicated social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

TAMIU is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and its 25th Anniversary at its north Laredo campus throughout 2020. A dedicated website shares the University’s remarkable transformation from a hybrid upper-level University to a full doctoral degree-granting University with over 29,000 graduates worldwide that enrolls over 8,400 students. Visit the calendar of Anniversary events, explore the University’s timeline, review alumni profiles and more at tamiu.edu/50. 

NOTE:  THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED.  UPDATED INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED AS AVAILABLE.