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from the issue of April 13, 2006
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Big Event reaches out across Lincoln
Community Service
BY TROY FEDDERSON, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Shortly before 11 a.m. on April 8, volunteers swarmed in and disturbed the quiet calm of an abandoned lot at 335 S. First Street.
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| | | PULL AND TOSS - Lila Luft of Student Accounts tosses aside an unwanted plant at the community garden cleanup, 335 N. First St. UNL employees and students worked side-by-side on the project, organized by Americorps. The garden is organized by the Lincoln Action Program. Photo by Troy Fedderson/University Communications.
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Standing in his doorway, Paul Abele watched as a group of 12 volunteers - six UNL employees and six students - gathered then took up rakes and shovels to rehabilitate an overgrown community garden that thrived a few seasons ago.
"This is pretty cool," said Abele, who lives next door to the garden. "We've had this community garden here for four years now. But, I don't think it's every been cleaned up this good before.
"Where did these people come from?"
Those dozen were a small part of UNL's Big Event volunteer force, numbering more than 1,000, that fanned out across Lincoln April 8 to help with a variety of community projects.
"I think the Big Event was a great big succes," said Emily Snodgrass, co-chair for the Big Event at UNL. "We had over 1,000 members of campus involved and the response we have received thus far has been positive."
Volunteers cleaned leaves and sticks from Lincoln neighborhoods, helped the Lincoln Children's Zoo prepare for the opening weekend, aided a Goodwill Industries/Boy Scouts donation drive, painted and cleaned apartment buildings ran by the Interfaith Housing Coalition, and served lunch to the elderly at the Downtown ActivAge Center.
Snodgrass said the majority of volunteers worked on cleaning up trash around the city.
About 50 UNL faculty or staff members were among the volunteers.
"Helping out around our community is something I've wanted to do for a long time," said Lila Luft, who works in Student Accounts and helped ready the community garden by Abele's house. "The university cares about our community. And, by coming out here and working on projects like this, we are able to show that to the entire city."
| | REACHING OUT - With the State Capitol building in the background, Sam Maertens, a freshman from Spencer, Iowa, removes branches and leaves from a window well at the Ambassador apartment building at the corner of 14th and J streets. Photo by Troy Fedderson/University Communications.
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The Big Event is a national service day started in 1982 at Texas A&M University. This year, UNL was one of more than 70 schools that participated nationwide.
Snodgrass - a senior who has worked to start The Big Event at UNL since her freshman year - said the goal is to continue to build on momentum gained this year.
"We are already thinking about how we can make this bigger and better next year," said Snodgrass - whose mother Lyda, assistant director of the Bursar's Office, helped out at the community garden. "Now that people have an awareness of what The Big Event is, we have to be sure it continues to grow and have a bigger impact on our community."
And, that includes drawing more faculty and staff next year.
"That will certainly be a goal next year," Snodgrass said.
See more photos at the The Big Event slideshow.
GO TO: ISSUE OF APRIL 13
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