The Big Event returns for year No. 4

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Chadron State College hosted its fourth annual The Big Event Saturday to once again say thank you to the Chadron community.

After the Spring Football Game at the college, CSC students and faculty came together to help as volunteers at multiple job sites around the community. In previous years, CSC has used The Big Event to help communities outside of Chadron as well, but this year elected to focus only on Chadron.

A large number of locations were covered, as companies and home owners all over town signed up to receive a helping hand. The Bean Broker and Cleo’s Flower Box were just two of many.

Owners of the Bean Broker—Andie Rising and Terrie Wood, both of Chadron­­—expressed their gratitude for the help they received, rewarding their volunteers with a cookie and beverage on the house as a thank you.

“It’s huge!” Rising said. “It’s a great service that you guys do for the town.”

Rising and Wood are currently working on renovating the upstairs of the Bean Broker, which they said has been left alone for decades. They had their volunteers help move heavy furniture upstairs to save themselves the trouble later on.

“This is the first time we have utilized The Big Event,” Rising added. “It’s wonderful that you guys give back, and we’re just thankful to have you.”

Rising felt that The Big Event was a great way for the Chadron community to spread love.

The same group of volunteers that helped at the Bean Broker first helped Kim Murdock, of Chadron, at Cleo’s Flower Box.

Murdock, a manager of the shop, also expressed gratitude for the help she received.

“It’s very beneficial to me to have muscle to help carry stuff out,” Murdock said. “I’m just so appreciative that this event happens and that these guys are willing to help.”

At Cleo’s, the volunteers helped move more things out of the basement that Murdock claimed she had not previously had a chance to get to, or receive the help needed to get the job done. She said they had a good time and that the volunteers made things easy for everyone.

The help at Cleo’s would certainly benefit Murdock later, as she said that only she and one other employee were working that day.

“It’s just one less thing I have to do later,” Murdock said. “I’ve been searching for people to help, so this is amazing. I can’t thank them enough.”

Student volunteers of The Big Event did various other tasks around town to help out.

“The Big Event is a great opportunity for students to give back to the community that has given so much to us,” Lane Swedburg, 23, senior of North Platte, said. “Years down the road the community will know that they can rely on the students to help uplift the community more than just on this day.”

Swedburg is no stranger to The Big Event having served two years as a job site leader and one year as a recruitment coordinator. Swedburg and his team’s job was to make sure that the lawn outside of the Chadron Public Library was in good condition. The job required them to weed the lawn, rake leaves, and pick up any trash that they saw.

Many people view The Big Event as boring or  feel the work is too hard, but many dedicated people showed up ready to work and serve the community.

“We’re helping clean up the Methodist Church. It’s been fun so far and it’s nice to give back to the community,” Cleo Scheer, 21, junior of St. Paul, said.

Scheer and her team were stationed at the Chadron United Methodist Church and had to collect trash and do garden work. A lot of The Big Event is about helping the community and repairing things that happened outside. Some people have even found ways to tie helping with The Big Event into their college majors.

“I’m a social work major so it’s a good way to give back to the community,” Hannah Andersen, 20, sophomore of Chadron, who’s in her third year of volunteering, said.

Some people were able to see the direct impact of their work that day. Maggie Smith-Bruehlman, director of the Upward Bound program, was stationed at the Child Development Center and was able to rake leaves, spray paint, and clean the equipment. Bruehlman believes that the kids will enjoy her and her team’s efforts and will have a safer playing environment.