Each year, OrangeSeeds plans and organizes “The Big Event,” Syracuse University’s largest student-run day of service. A team of 24 first-year students will lead this spring’s event, taking place Saturday.

The Big Event begins at 9 a.m. in Hendricks Chapel, during which volunteers will receive breakfast and a presentation from the event’s opening speaker. Students will then be sent to various nonprofits throughout the city via buses for two hours of volunteer work.

This year, OrangeSeeds has partnered with more than 17 nonprofit organizations in the city of Syracuse including Vera House, The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, RISE and the Ronald McDonald House Charities, among others.

Diego Luna, an OrangeSeeds member, said The Big Event’s wide reach helps to benefit multiple organizations in Syracuse.

The Big Event was planned and organized by 24 first-year students, who said the goal of the event is to help bridge the gap between students and the Syracuse community. Katie Tsai | Asst. Photo Editor

“It’s basically a huge community service event,” Luna said. “But instead of just focusing on one or two local nonprofits, we try to do as many as we can to benefit most, if not all, the Syracuse community.”

In order to plan and set up for the event, the first-year OrangeSeeds members split up into three committees: logistics, marketing and community relations.

CJ Sevola, head of the logistics committee, said his responsibilities included facilitating meetings, organizing the bus schedule and food, and making sure committee members stay on task for their duties.

Jenniviv Bansah and Bianca Pineda both worked on the marketing committee tasked with spreading the word and motivating people to attend. The Big Event also includes the SUNY-ESF community — part of Bansah’s job was to reach out to ESF students, as well.

The purpose of The Big Event, Bansah said, is to break down the “barrier of fear (and) misunderstanding” between the SU campus and city of Syracuse. Pineda added that The Big Event aims to bridge the two communities by providing students with the opportunity to get off campus and give their time to help others.

Anna Henderson | Digital Design Editor

“There’s kind of a belief that Syracuse University itself is kind of a bubble,” Sevola said. “And a lot of times students don’t get out of that bubble and see the community that they’re now a part of.”

Bansah and David Williams, another member, said they were looking for opportunities to get involved and make an impact as soon as they both arrived on campus. That eventually led them to OrangeSeeds.

Bansah said someone had told her OrangeSeeds is a gateway for opportunities on and off campus.

Williams arrived at SU with a similar desire, he said, and came to campus “looking for different organizations that strive to empower leadership.”

Pineda said OrangeSeeds hopes to spread its passion for community service on to others. She said that volunteering can be extremely rewarding — even when people are reluctant to do the work at first.

“We just want to share that positivity and love for service,” Pineda said. “Because it really does make you see the community differently and makes you see the campus differently.”

Published on April 10, 2019 at 10:39 pm

Contact Mandy: ackrayna@syr.edu | @MandyKraynak