LSU’s biggest volunteer event of the year, Geaux Big Baton Rouge, is back in full swing this week from Monday to Saturday. For the first time, event organizer Volunteer LSU extended the previous day-long event to an entire week, giving more students opportunities to serve.
For the past 13 years, Geaux Big was a full day of service opportunities for students to volunteer with local organizations off-campus. However, transportation to and from the event and time availability limited those who could attend.
“We started thinking of ways we could make it more accessible to the student body,” said staff director of Geaux Big Bri McManus. “We needed to expand on the reach of Geaux Big to hopefully engage more students in ways that can meet their needs.”
McManus, also LSU’s assistant director for leadership and civic engagement, joined the university last May and immediately sought a way to connect her background in nonprofit work to the student community.
“Coming into LSU after leaving the nonprofit space gave me a new vision for how we could do service and volunteerism on campus,” McManus said.
Students play a leading role in organizing the event, from the planning period that began in August to connecting with outside nonprofits in need of volunteer help. Jordyn Wilson, a senior broadcast journalism student, is the head of the student board. The board comprises 10 enthusiastic students, most of whom had prior leadership positions.
“Having people passionate about [service] serve on your board makes such a difference and the impact it makes because it allows everyone to have that drive and dedication to make the week what it’s been,” Wilson said.
Volunteer opportunities include food pantry planning, park cleanups and McManus’ personal favorite, writing letters of gratitude to faculty members.
“Faculty and staff are typically seen as the people who serve students, but we also want to express our gratitude as well,” McManus said.
Geaux Big also partnered with student organizations like Bengals in the Wild, the Black Women’s Leadership Association and many more, opening the door to even more students to serve.
“From the student’s point of view there’s a new excitement about being able to have a voice in the service they’re doing actively,” McManus said.
Wilson could not participate in Geaux Big 2024 because she had no transportation to the off-campus organizations. She was an active voice in bringing more service opportunities back to campus.
Service events and volunteering in college can be seen as a chore, with hours required for class grades or Greek life requirements. The goal of Geaux Big is to be catalysts of community and impactful change, according to McManus.
“If a student is serving and they don’t feel connected to their institution or community, it’s not a win,” McManus said. “It’s less about getting your hours and more about feeling connected.”
LSU offers an overwhelming number of activities many freshmen may find challenging in continuing the hobbies they had in high school. Ma’Ciah Mitchell, a freshman statistics major, completed over 100 hours of service before coming to LSU.
“I had so much fun volunteering for the food pantry and it felt bigger and better than high school,” Mitchell said. “I was doing it all on my own and got to meet some awesome people.”
Mitchell is just one of the 752 students participating in the week-long service event.
Wilson hopes the event will only grow bigger after she graduates.
“Just get excited about volunteering,” Wilson said. “It definitely is good practice to have and you learn so much about yourself. There is much good that comes out of it.”
