LISD’s East Zone’s third annual Big Event will be held April 1 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at various locations in the community.

“We started [the event] in 2015, and it was kind of a brain child of Leigh Ann Lewis the East Zone Leader,” National Honor Society sponsor Julie Cummings said. “She wanted to do something that raised community awareness and give back to the community for things that they do for us.”

In two years, LISD’s The Big Event has involved nearly 7,000 volunteers and has reached more than 200 locations in Carrollton, Frisco, Lewisville, Plano and the Colony. This year LISD is hoping for a bigger turnout.

“I think it’s a great way to unite everyone to do something good for their community,” junior Maryam Rizvi said. “It gets people away from technology for just a little bit and able to interact with the outdoors in a beneficial way or just help people.”

Clubs like NHS and Make-A-Wish sponsor service events and send volunteers to various events like house painting, book drives,and trimming trees for people in the community who are not able to.

“I hosted the Make-A-Wish event last year and we invited wish kids from the hospital to do artworks with us,” Rizvi said. “It was incredible. The kids were so excited and happy and we were able to make paintings, decorate mason jars and do other artworks.”

The Big Event is a way for campuses and communities to come together as students volunteer their services for one day to help improve the community.

“It is a great way to say thank you to the community for everything that they do for us,” Cummings said. “They’re there to support us and our students and through the big event, we are able to say thank you to them [the community].”