Texas A&M University School of Law students, faculty and staff and their families participated in the law school’s third Big Event on April 16. This annual service project is an opportunity for Texas A&M Law to say "Thank You" and give back to the community.
More than 150 volunteers worked at 10 sites around Fort Worth: Journey Home (Presbyterian Night Shelter); Liberty House; Tarrant Area Food Bank; Community Food Bank; Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge; Fort Worth Parks; Fort Worth Botanic Garden; Morningside Children's Partnership; Catholic Charities; and the FWPD Graffiti Abatement Program.
2L Laura Falco, the Student Bar Association Philanthropic Chair, served as this year’s Aggie Law Big Event Director. She said the community organizations they worked with were very grateful and happy. For example, the Tarrant Area Food Bank was “extremely appreciative” that two groups of volunteers helped make donation boxes.
“Another job site we worked at was painting homes through Morningside Children's Partnership and the homeowners were very happy to see the students out there,” Falco said.
2L Jonathan Heathman was among the volunteers and said it’s more than just giving back to the community.
“It was a great way to bond with fellow students, faculty and staff,” he said.
Falco said using an opportunity to help people and give back is simply what Aggies do.
“It gives us a chance to build the Texas A&M Law community and integrate it with the broader Fort Worth community.”
Shawna Smith, Program Coordinator for Student Affairs, said this was her first Big Event. She was very impressed with the turnout and dedication.
“I had a great time volunteering and servicing the Fort Worth community,” she said. “My favorite part was singing the Aggie War Hymn at check-in. I am looking forward to Big Event 2017.”
Local sponsors generously supported the Aggie Law Big Event. The Texas A&M Law Student Affairs Office provided T-shirts and lunch, Dasani donated bottled water, Jason’s Deli provided fruit trays, Habitat for Humanity donated paint and all the supplies to paint the homes with Morningside Children's Partnership and Montalbano Lumber (based in Houston) also donated paint supplies.
About the Big Event
The Big Event is an Aggie tradition. Now the largest one-day, student-run service project in the nation, the Big Event started at the College Station campus 34 years ago with six Aggie undergraduate students. In 2016, more than 22,700 Aggies system-wide participated. The Big Event has expanded across the country and around the globe with 110 other schools in the United States and schools in Europe, Australia and Pakistan participating. Learn more.
Exemplifying the Aggie core value of selfless service, it provides students, faculty, staff and their families with the opportunity to give back to the community in order to thank them for their support of the school.
The Big Event is organized and run by students. The success of this year’s event is due to the hard work of the Texas A&M Law Big Event committee:
2L Laura Falco – Director
3L Amanda Martinez
2L Andy Duane
2L Vince Vela
2L Tarek Abassi
2L Madison Easterlin
1L Steven Traeger
1L David Ayala
1L Paula Bowman
1L Robin Mills
View all the photos from the 2016 Aggie Law Big Event.
- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law