Personal investment in the area is a big benefit of The Big Event

Some were college students and some were professors, many were from Chadron, while others were from nearby towns. Despite differences, at noon Saturday all of nearly 650 volunteers gathered onto one football field with one goal: to help the local communities under the name of The Big Event.

While many projects, and therefore many good tasks, were accomplished by these volunteers, The Big Event’s biggest accomplishment was the unification of hundreds of people.

Take for instance the experience of one group of more than two dozen volunteers that worked at Bordeaux Creek. At this location a couple miles east of Chadron, this group faced the task of replanting hundreds of shrubs in a large field. Many of the workers had no prior experience planting shrubs or any plants, while others were afraid of snakes, of which there are many in Nebraskan fields. Under the guide of Nebraska Game and Parks, these volunteers needed to rely on the employees and other volunteers to learn the skill of planting shrubs and staying safe, and in doing so became acquainted.

With about 70 project sites, hundreds of volunteers, and many more residents on the receiving end of the project sites, so many other connections were made in the same way as this.

The extreme degree of our unification’s importance cannot be quantified. We all invested in Chadron and the local areas Saturday as we improved the communities, met residents, and made memories. Even though many of us are from other areas, perhaps even out of the state, we all have become integrated during our time here, especially because of The Big Event.