Avery Dickinson, an OU junior studying Industrial and System Engineering, served as the 2022 Big Event’s Associate Chair. To Avery, the Big Event is more than just Oklahoma’s largest day of community service and OU’s official day of community service, it is a chance for students to come together to make a lasting positive impact.

“The organization as a whole is a community of students who have a heart for making others’ lives easier,” Avery said. “The value that service hours have on local job sites is huge. Just four hours of community service can do so much for organizations, individual homes, schools, nonprofits, and more. It takes just one day to get out of your own bubble to make a huge impact in your community.”

This year, the Big Event sent over 4,000 volunteers to 170 job sites in Norman and Oklahoma City, saving over $450,000 in direct costs for local nonprofits and other community organizations. During the 2021-22 academic year, $45,000 was raised in monetary donations to support the Big Event, as well as $29,000 in in-kind donations from partners in the Norman and OU communities.

For the first time since 2019, the Big Event kicked off with an opening ceremony, in which Avery oversaw planning and scheduling. She invited campus leaders OU President Joseph Harroz and Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. David Surratt to attend, and they both spoke in support of the Big Event.

For students who are interested in the Big Event, there are three ways to get involved: apply for the executive committee in August, apply for operations staff in October, or volunteer with the Big Event the day of.

“These options give students a sense of community through service,” Avery said. “Whether you are behind the scenes or participating the day of, you will find community.”