Big Event at Mississippi College Attracts Over 200 Student Volunteers

More than 200 Mississippi College students are signed up as volunteers for The Big Event activities to serve the needs of the metro Jackson community.

From working with special needs adults at Mustard Seed in Brandon to assisting families with the Ronald McDonald House at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MC students on January 20 will put their focus on helping others. Activities for the MC students will coincide with Big Event campaigns on campuses nationwide.

MC senior Dakota Bibbs, 21, of Olive Branch serves as the student director of the campaign coming to the Clinton campus for the first time this year. He hopes the occasion will prove to be the biggest single service day in the Christian university’s history.

The Big Event movement originated with students at Texas A&M University in 1982 and spread to other schools. The University of Mississippi will host its special day of community service on March 22. The effort at Ole Miss seeks to strengthen ties between students and people in Oxford and Lafayette County.

The Big Event date is February 22 at Florida State University. FSU students worked at boys and girls clubs and assisted abused women in Tallahassee last year. The date is April 5 at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Community service projects are scheduled for March 29 at Texas A&M.

While there are no classes, Mississippi College students will stay busy on Monday – a national holiday to mark the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

MC students will also volunteer at places like the We Will Go Ministries in Jackson, area Boys and Girls clubs, the Baptist Children’s Village and with local churches like Pinelake, Alta Woods and Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, Bibbs said.

In recent years, Bibbs has practiced what he preaches. He’s been a faithful community service volunteer – from the We Will Go Ministries to Hospice Ministries to Mission First.

The MC students will work in three shifts on Monday – from 9 a.m. until noon, 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. and from 1-4 p.m.

Shari Barnes, director of the Community Service Center that’s organized volunteer activities for MC students for years, applauds the new initiative. “It’s a good idea. We should partner with community leaders throughout the year.”

Community service is one of the cornerstones of the mission at Mississippi College, Barnes noted.

For more information, go to www.mc.edu/sga/big-event.