A total of 167 University of Central Arkansas students, faculty and staff volunteered for various projects across Conway for the Big Event this year. The annual service day event is a student-led effort to strengthen the bond between UCA and the community by helping its residents.
The Big Event fell on Saturday, March 12, 2022, the day after a late-season snowfall. While some of the projects had to be rescheduled for later dates due to the weather, students completed 12 projects from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Kayla Young, the Big Event student director, was surprised the snow did not stop more students from showing up.
“Being director this year has blown me away,” Young said. “They were rolling snow off the yard into huge snowballs so that they could rake leaves underneath. The students were creative, hardworking and problem-solving to complete any tasks thrown their way. Many also traveled to a different job site after theirs was completed to offer extra help.”
The projects included yard work, cleaning and painting for Conway residents. Volunteers also served with several local nonprofits, including cleaning at Milestones Services, reorganizing the warehouse at Conway Ministry Center and sorting donations at the Rise House child advocacy room.
Young says she has received an outpouring of positive feedback following the event. Conway resident Dianna Mills, who hosted Big Event volunteers at her house, sent an email to Lesley Graybeal, the director of service-learning at UCA. 
“They were a great crew, dug right in and got to work,” Mills wrote. “They have saved me many hours of work and I am so appreciative! They all were very polite and so nice. I really enjoyed talking with them. This is a great initiative that the college does for the community and I look forward to participating in future years.”
Click here to learn more about the Big Event.
