This Saturday, approximately 200 Tigers will line up in the Brown Student Center to receive their community service project assignments as part of the annual Big Event. The day of service originated at Texas A&M and has become one of the largest student-led service projects in the nation. This marks the eighth year Hampden-Sydney has participated in the event.
The day is designed as a way to give back to our community, as a community. Past volunteer projects have included building an outdoor classroom at the local public school, distributing food for the FACES food pantry, and assisting with a Clean Virginia Waterways project. This year, projects will extend to Twin Lakes State Park as well as Habitat for Humanity.
Service, however, is not limited to the Big Event day. The number of volunteer hours completed by H-SC students has more than doubled in the last three years—evidence of the College's increasing emphasis on getting involved in the local community. Tillmon Cook '18 notes, "Most Hampden-Sydney students aren't originally from the small town of Farmville, so the service we do not only helps us build relationships with local residents, but it engages us to become active members of the community, which has a positive and lasting effect on society as a whole."
Register for the Big Event online or contact Sandy Cooke to find out more about civic engagement on campus.
