Towson Holds Campus-Wide Cleanup
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- Campus-wide college cleanup. Thousands of Towson University students participated in their school's largest community service project this weekend.
Gigi Barnett has more on "The Big Event."
Shovels in the dirt, plants in the ground. These weekend gardeners all students at Towson University.
"I've never done this before but I was very quick to hop in the dirt," said Towson student Kayla Pankey.
Pankey is a member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority. She's just one of nearly 2,000 students who took part in Towson's massive community service project. It's called "The Big Event."
"The mission of "The Big Event" is to say thank you to the Towson community for being our home for the year," said event director Janelle Hartman.
Student groups like Tigers for Tigers sign up to volunteer months before "The Big Event." Projects range from helping homeowners nearby to working with nonprofit organizations. The event started five years ago and morphed to more than 100 project sites this year.
"The Big Event" is Towson's largest community service project. Most of the sites are actually off-campus. Organizers say they did that to get students out in the community to met neighbors.
"I participated in `The Big Event' last year and it was just very rewarding, especially when we went off campus. It made me feel more connected to the community around campus and it made it feel more like home," said student Katie Iser.
Now it's a home with a little more TLC.
"The Big Event" organizers start planning in September for this weekend's three hour project.