MWSU hosts Downtown clean-up to beautify St. Joseph

By Jazmine Knight

Missouri Western State University students showed up to help clean up the community Friday for an annual service event.

Originating from the University of Texas about 50 years ago, “The Big Event” serves as an initiative for college students to give back to the community. Over time, “The Big Event” has spread to universities across the country, including Missouri Western.

“It gives us a chance to come out into the community and get some things done that maybe otherwise wouldn’t be able to be done here,” said Kim Sigrist, director of the Center for Service at Missouri Western.

The students split into three teams to perform the clean-up around Mount Mora Cemetery. Team Gold focused on picking up litter on the ground. Team Black worked on clearing curbs and sidewalks. This will help with drainage flow and improve the overall appearance. Team Purple was in charge of cleaning up inside the cemetery, picking up tree limbs and raking leaves from the wintertime.

“To really help out Mount Mora and get (them) ready for their busy season, especially with Memorial Day coming up in May,” Sigrist said.

With most Missouri Western students not being from St. Joseph, Sigrist said it gives them a glance at the town and makes them feel like they are making a difference.

“They really love this. They love getting together, feeling like they’re making a difference, being able to walk away at the end of the day and go, ‘Wow, we just made that area look so much better,’” she said. “We have multiple students who have been here all three years and have done this and when you ask them, they’ll talk about this as being one of their favorite days of the year.”

Sigrist said her favorite part is seeing the students work together despite the different grade levels, organizations and clubs.

Other staff and community volunteers helped out as well, delivering water and supplies to students.

“We’ve tried to extend invitations to our alumni to be involved. Actually, a couple of my friends came out to help us today. They have a truck and so they’re helping drive around and pick up stuff,” Sigrist said.

More than 50 students were in attendance including Jacob Ridens, who said they had made pretty good progress in just a short amount of time.

“I’ve been born and raised here in St. Joseph, so to be a Missouri Western student and being able to be active in my community is very fulfilling, Ridens said. “Also being able to see any students that aren’t from here helping in the same way. It’s also very fun.”

He said it’s nice to see the development in his hometown. He enjoys being able to give back to his community and inspire the younger generations to do the same.

“Sometimes I feel old looking at seeing the kids I’ve seen grow up doing the same thing here, being able to provide back to those people that are growing up like I was provided when I was growing up here,” he said.

For his peers, he encourages more of them to get out and volunteer, whether it be once a month or every week.

“I also do a lot of activities and classes. Everyone’s got different sounds of life,” Ridens said. “There’s always a good time to figure out what the opportunity to make it out as a volunteer, whether it be for an hour, three hours, four hours, even if it’s just in 30 minutes.”

And his favorite part is seeing change in his community.

“Even in the more tangible stuff like this, where you can actually see the progress or even in the intangible stuff like packing food at Second Harvest. You may not see that impact immediately, but you have to remember that this represents names, faces and souls,” he said. “This represents the community of people that live here.”