Annual UTA Big Event to leave impression, give back to community
UTA’s will hold its annual Big Event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 26, encouraging Mavericks to give back to the community. Hosted by UTA Volunteers, the day-long event has students help and volunteer for several causes at various locations on and off campus. There are 23 volunteering sites across Dallas-Fort Worth this year, including the Arlington Life Shelter, Trinity Park in Fort Worth and the Perot Museum in Dallas. Students can sign up online, and site locations and resources will be communicated through the designated site leader, who will contact attendees before the event. Those under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult and all volunteers must sign an event waiver that will be sent via email. “I'm just really excited to see the Big Event play out because we've been planning it for such a long time now,” said Jodie Orogun, nursing freshman and membership ambassador for Freshman Leaders on Campus. Biology senior Mia Arnsworth is one of three UTA Volunteers student directors and said volunteers should show up at 7:30 a.m. to check in at their respective sites. The Big Event’s theme is Bigfoot and the impression of the footprint left behind, Arnsworth said. This theme represents the lasting impact of volunteer work in the local community. Orogun is the site leader for the Molly Hollar Wildscape, where she and other registered volunteers will help with a gardening project involving pruning, planting and mulching. “I feel like it’ll really show people the importance of what community is and what volunteering is for,” she said. “It would show them what other people have to do to make sure our community continues to look beautiful, so I feel like it also builds up more of an appreciation for what they get to see every day.” When it comes to the importance of volunteer work, Arnsworth said she wants people to consider what would happen if no one volunteered. “Just reflect on that question because you don't realize how much volunteer work does for people in the community,” she said. “Volunteers really keep the world moving and a lot of us don't realize it, or take it for granted.” news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
