On Saturday, March 31, Longwood students decided to not just talk about Longwood's mission to form citizen leaders, but instead show how Longwood is creating citizen leaders. Nearly 650 Longwood students decided to go out into the community and be the citizen leaders Longwood shapes each student to be. The amount of student volunteers at this year's Big Event resulted in it becoming the largest campus-wide community service project to date and the biggest Big Event as well.
On Saturday, students came together behind Lankford Student Union from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. to register for the event, be organized into groups and be given the necessary supplies for their specific job site. Supplies given to students included shovels, hedge clippers and more.
From 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Longwood students assisted residents in the Farmville community through doing yard work, cleaning house siding, painting, doing light construction, picking up trash and more, as detailed on the Longwood Big Event website. Finally, the event came to a close at 1 p.m. with a picnic behind Lankford Student Union. Farmville Town Manager Gerald Spates attended the event, thanking the students of Longwood for their service. "This is a great way for Longwood to show our community how really great our students are, and you all being out here today is a prime example of that," said Spates.
"I just want to personally thank each of you for what you're doing. We have a great group of students who come here and go to Longwood University, and we appreciate how much you do.
We appreciate you," added Spates. Director of the Big Event Brian Reid said, "I think it's the biggest way that Longwood is able to give to the community and say, 'We do live here nine months out of the year. We do care about this place. We understand that without Farmville, we wouldn't be... here.' Through this one day - and it should be a lot more than one - we try to come together as a here.' Through this one day - and it should be a lot more than one - we try to come together as a school and give back to the community that gives us so much."
Reid has been a part of the Big Event since he was a freshman at Longwood University, attending the event each year before finally becoming the head of the entire event itself. He said, "It's something I really love doing. It's nice to say that I have a part in helping the biggest community service on campus. I was very blessed and fortunate to be a part of it."
Reid said, "I consider it a successful Big Event when students enjoy what they're doing, enjoy giving back to the community, and they don't care what they're doing. They're weeding, they're cleaning gutters, they're washing baseboards - whatever it is, they enjoy it, and they realize that even as minimal as what they're doing is, it has an impact on the community."
Longwood students work hard during the Big Event to tear down an old shed for a member of the Farmville community.
