The Big Event at Virginia Tech is a student-run community service effort that has grown into the 2nd largest event of its kind in the nation over the past 13 years. Every spring, thousands of students, faculty, and staff come together to complete hundreds of community service projects throughout Blacksburg, Christiansburg and the New River Valley.

Projects are completed regardless of need or socioeconomic status; instead, it is The Big Event’s goal to simply say, “Thank you.” Seeded in our university’s motto of Ut Prosim (That I may serve) students and community members come together for a truly unparalleled experience.

The Big Event: “One Big Day. One Big Thanks.”

• A member of our team will be responsible for finding a mutual time to meet at the project’s site
• It lets us confirm that the project is feasible and safe to do within four hours
• Makes sure that we have an accurate number of volunteers assigned to the project
• And it allows us to answer any questions that you may have, in person.

While we aim to complete 100% of the projects that are requested, we cannot guarantee that your project will be completed due to the overwhelming amount of requests we receive each year. We make it our goal to complete as many projects as possible, and we are aiming for 1,100 projects this year. However, with a limited amount of student volunteers, it is possible there will not be enough volunteers for each project.

Don’t worry! We are still planning on checking your project; we just may not have gotten to it on that specific day due to an overwhelming number of project requests (we’re expecting 1,100 projects). You will be contacted by a member of The Big Event team via phone or email to set up a convenient time to meet with you either during the week, or at a different time over the weekend.

Between 11:00AM and 12:00PM. It depends on how far away your job is from campus, but typically the students will leave the drill field at 10:45AM.

Yes, the resident must be home when the volunteers arrive and for the full time that the project is being completed. If you are not home, we cannot complete the project.

You are more than welcome to provide the volunteers with refreshments or snacks, but you are not required to.

The volunteers can be there for up to 4 hours.

We will bring whatever tools you request during your project check and we can use your tools. However; under no circumstances can we use power tools. This includes but is not limited to: lawn mowers, weed whackers, drills, leaf blowers, and so forth.

• Indoor Projects
  • Broom/Dustpan, Windows Pack (Windex, paper towels for 2 people), Cleaning Pack (Windex, paper towels for 2 people)
• Painting Projects
  • Painting Pack (1 brush, 1 paint tray and 1 roller for 2 people), Scraper
• Rakes
  • Hard Rake, Leaf Rake
• Hand Tools
  • Hand Cultivator, Hand Saw, Hand Spade
• Other Tools
  • Hammer, Hedge Shears, Hoe, Pitch Fork, Pruner, Shovel, Tree Trimmer
• Gloves
  • Pairs of Gloves

Unfortunately, we cannot provide any tools that are not listed here. All tools must be requested during project checks and have limited availability. We do not provide wheelbarrows, ladders or paint.

Contact us at bigevent@vt.edu. All inquiries will be answered within 24 hours.

If you need to cancel your project for any reason, we ask that you contact us by April 6 at 5 PM.

Yes, they can paint and we even have rollers and brushes. However; the homeowner must provide the paint.

Unfortunately, if there is bad weather at the discretion of The Big Event Executive Committee, the event will be cancelled and not be made up.

You will receive a confirmation email with a Job # in the form of 2015-#### that confirms you are registered. Project checkers should have come to your property or given you a call to confirm all of the details. If you still aren’t sure, please contact bigevent@vt.edu.