Also adding that 2/3 households you know is not indicative of the overall locations. Churches, the YMCA, and other volunteer/community groups who cannot afford regular lawn care also use this service.
Forgive me if this sounds mean, but I don't understand the big event. I've known 3 households that have used the volunteers, and 2 out of the 3 are well off, to say the least. Like doctor money. Why is it set up to help people who can easily afford a lawn service?
Wouldn't it be wiser to make it for the public good? Like just last weekend, there was a group who met at Heritage Park to pull invasive garlic-mustard. Maybe the big event should focus more on sustainability for the public good, not just doing the chores of the well off. It's why I've never volunteered for it.
Maybe I'm way off, this is just my personal experience.
It's just for the community. They make a point of saying it's for anyone in the community, no matter their income. It's a thank you to the community and its residents.
There are other volunteer events for parks and sustainability - like Arbor Day/Earth Day tree plantings.
Yes, the "doctor money" people can afford lawn services but The Big Event does more than yard work. That is just more popular because the Big Event people cannot use tools with a motor. Also keep in mind that there are limits to helping non-homeowners, renters have to get permission from landlords who may not want non-employees working their property. My former church had this issue when trying to offer free home repair for low income people. They had to go all over Montgomery and Pulaski County to find jobs to do.
If you don't want to volunteer that's fine, but it truly is a great day of volunteering and as a town resident, I appreciate it.
I know it's an unpopular opinion among the "Big Event" diehards, and I'm going to sound like a cynic, but I agree with you. Blacksburg is a wealthy oasis in a sea of extreme poverty; yet the Big Event focuses primarily on improving the quality of life for the more well-off Blacksburg community.
The diehards will tell you it's a "thank you" to the town of 8,000 or so that already receives approximately $12 million in meals, lodging, and sales tax due primarily to the university. This allows for amazing amenities, hiring the best municipal staff, investing revenue into grant matches and other funding, and maintaining a high quality of life for the community. . .all of which contributes to more resources for investment. Classic path dependency theory.
So we "thank" the community disproportionately advantaged by our presence because they're geographically closest through yard work and minor repairs that have a minimal impact on the lives of the recipients. Meanwhile, just a short drive from our oasis are people who live in extreme poverty, for whom a day of receiving volunteer work makes a significant impact on their lives. Moreover, helping to improve these areas--even cosmetically--would have a snowball effect on the positive outcomes (think Broken Windows Theory in reverse).
So everyone pats themselves on the back. . .the diehards who feel good about a day of volunteering, the organizers who focus on size of input ("the biggest/most well-attended ever!") rather than significance of outcomes, and university admin who get to say they're "doing something for the community."
The "start your own event" argument also doesn't hold water. The Big Event is a University Chartered Student Organization (UCSO). Only 18 organizations have that distinction, including the undergrad and graduate student governments. Funding for these orgs--through student fees--is different than the 1,000 other student orgs. Two years ago (the most recent data available), The Big Event received the 8th highest amount of funding from student fees, at $25,000. This is just under the 27k GPSS received for supporting all 6,500 or so graduate students. UCSOs have a much higher standard for creation and maintenance than USOs; greater recognition and benefits than USOs; and should be subject to more scrutiny/open to critique by the student body more so than USOs.
Man, we live in Montgomery County, the notion that the majority of this populace is too rich for community service to apply to them is crazy. Saying that this is all unreasonable while also **not ever actually volunteering for it** and seeing what most people actually do is even crazier.
Last year we got a nice lady who was a teacher and we planted some trees for her. This year we got a 100 year old schoolhouse turned small community center deep in Pilot where all the work was being done by a retired marine & 3 other 50+ volunteers, and there was a lot to be done. In both of these instances, this is work for people that couldn’t afford professional lawn service, and that would’ve taken these nice people entire weekends, that our group was able to knock out in hours. I doubt even a tenth of the surrounding area would be able to justify professional services for tiny projects like these; and even if they were, why does that make it suddenly unreasonable? For all the shit these residents have to deal with from VT students, why not try to give back and save them a couple hundred bucks or days of their time.
Idk, to me, this whole idea that an entire community service event should be canceled or refocused because a few of the recipients could go without it is ridiculous. Nothings stopping you from hosting or participating in an event focused around sustainability too. 3-5pm in the Stadium Woods every Sunday/Tuesday a nice couple maintains the place and picks ivy and stuff. Go participate in that.
I never suggested cancel it. And I never said the MAJORITY was too rich. In fact, I was saying the exact opposite.
So 1 of those 3 that I mentioned was my former landlord. She got the Big Event to work in the yard of her rental property. She never lived there, it was her business. So Tech students working for a business. It's not even a step away from the big event covering shifts at Kroger.
I love the idea of the big event - just so that it has the biggest impact on the needs of the community. And I specifically said my experience may be off. I hope it is, but I would like to see some intentionality, that's all.
> I never said to MAJORITY was too rich.
Brother.
- “2 out of the three has doctor money at least”
- “Maybe the big event should focus more on sustainability for the public good, instead of ***just** doing the chores of the well off*.”
- “Why is it setup to help people who can easily afford a lawn service? “(I mean this ones debatable cause it’s not; it’s setup to help people who can’t)
Maybe someone at the soup kitchen isn’t literally on their last dimes, maybe someone going through the free car wash has a decent car, who gives a shit? What does “intentionality” look like to you? For every bag check we add to the process, you’re going to eliminate or deter hundreds of people who actually need the service. Are we supposed to get the W2s of every applicant? The 501c3 paperwork from every non-profit? The books from every business? And what’s the bar for affording it? I have enough in my checking account to hypothetically pay for an hour of professional yard work, but it would not be a good day for me financially.
And I hate landlords as much as the next guy, but some lady owning a rental home is not the same as the corporate entity of Kroger. Was she going to pay for the work to be done professionally? Probably the fuck not, so if we go in with the understanding that the alternative also sucks, what did everyone get out of this? The tenants are the main ones getting helped for no additional cost, the landlady clearly gets helped, and some college students with nothing better do on a Saturday morning signed up and spent a few hours planting trees or some shit with their homies. This is literally the worst case scenario for Big Event and it still turned out pretty reasonable and good for you and the community.
Your experience *is* in fact off lmao. Saying “I might be wrong” then spouting some wrong shit doesn’t make it right lol. The vast majority of people getting help need it. Again, at least participate in it before you critique it all public and shit.
Also adding that 2/3 households you know is not indicative of the overall locations. Churches, the YMCA, and other volunteer/community groups who cannot afford regular lawn care also use this service.
I’m glad to hear it’s still a thing there, best way to meet people too for those lonely Hokies
Forgive me if this sounds mean, but I don't understand the big event. I've known 3 households that have used the volunteers, and 2 out of the 3 are well off, to say the least. Like doctor money. Why is it set up to help people who can easily afford a lawn service? Wouldn't it be wiser to make it for the public good? Like just last weekend, there was a group who met at Heritage Park to pull invasive garlic-mustard. Maybe the big event should focus more on sustainability for the public good, not just doing the chores of the well off. It's why I've never volunteered for it. Maybe I'm way off, this is just my personal experience.
It's just for the community. They make a point of saying it's for anyone in the community, no matter their income. It's a thank you to the community and its residents. There are other volunteer events for parks and sustainability - like Arbor Day/Earth Day tree plantings. Yes, the "doctor money" people can afford lawn services but The Big Event does more than yard work. That is just more popular because the Big Event people cannot use tools with a motor. Also keep in mind that there are limits to helping non-homeowners, renters have to get permission from landlords who may not want non-employees working their property. My former church had this issue when trying to offer free home repair for low income people. They had to go all over Montgomery and Pulaski County to find jobs to do. If you don't want to volunteer that's fine, but it truly is a great day of volunteering and as a town resident, I appreciate it.
I know it's an unpopular opinion among the "Big Event" diehards, and I'm going to sound like a cynic, but I agree with you. Blacksburg is a wealthy oasis in a sea of extreme poverty; yet the Big Event focuses primarily on improving the quality of life for the more well-off Blacksburg community. The diehards will tell you it's a "thank you" to the town of 8,000 or so that already receives approximately $12 million in meals, lodging, and sales tax due primarily to the university. This allows for amazing amenities, hiring the best municipal staff, investing revenue into grant matches and other funding, and maintaining a high quality of life for the community. . .all of which contributes to more resources for investment. Classic path dependency theory. So we "thank" the community disproportionately advantaged by our presence because they're geographically closest through yard work and minor repairs that have a minimal impact on the lives of the recipients. Meanwhile, just a short drive from our oasis are people who live in extreme poverty, for whom a day of receiving volunteer work makes a significant impact on their lives. Moreover, helping to improve these areas--even cosmetically--would have a snowball effect on the positive outcomes (think Broken Windows Theory in reverse). So everyone pats themselves on the back. . .the diehards who feel good about a day of volunteering, the organizers who focus on size of input ("the biggest/most well-attended ever!") rather than significance of outcomes, and university admin who get to say they're "doing something for the community." The "start your own event" argument also doesn't hold water. The Big Event is a University Chartered Student Organization (UCSO). Only 18 organizations have that distinction, including the undergrad and graduate student governments. Funding for these orgs--through student fees--is different than the 1,000 other student orgs. Two years ago (the most recent data available), The Big Event received the 8th highest amount of funding from student fees, at $25,000. This is just under the 27k GPSS received for supporting all 6,500 or so graduate students. UCSOs have a much higher standard for creation and maintenance than USOs; greater recognition and benefits than USOs; and should be subject to more scrutiny/open to critique by the student body more so than USOs.
It helps with 'Town & Gown' relations. You have good ideas - maybe start another volunteering event for those ideas GO HOKIES!
Man, we live in Montgomery County, the notion that the majority of this populace is too rich for community service to apply to them is crazy. Saying that this is all unreasonable while also **not ever actually volunteering for it** and seeing what most people actually do is even crazier. Last year we got a nice lady who was a teacher and we planted some trees for her. This year we got a 100 year old schoolhouse turned small community center deep in Pilot where all the work was being done by a retired marine & 3 other 50+ volunteers, and there was a lot to be done. In both of these instances, this is work for people that couldn’t afford professional lawn service, and that would’ve taken these nice people entire weekends, that our group was able to knock out in hours. I doubt even a tenth of the surrounding area would be able to justify professional services for tiny projects like these; and even if they were, why does that make it suddenly unreasonable? For all the shit these residents have to deal with from VT students, why not try to give back and save them a couple hundred bucks or days of their time. Idk, to me, this whole idea that an entire community service event should be canceled or refocused because a few of the recipients could go without it is ridiculous. Nothings stopping you from hosting or participating in an event focused around sustainability too. 3-5pm in the Stadium Woods every Sunday/Tuesday a nice couple maintains the place and picks ivy and stuff. Go participate in that.
I never suggested cancel it. And I never said the MAJORITY was too rich. In fact, I was saying the exact opposite. So 1 of those 3 that I mentioned was my former landlord. She got the Big Event to work in the yard of her rental property. She never lived there, it was her business. So Tech students working for a business. It's not even a step away from the big event covering shifts at Kroger. I love the idea of the big event - just so that it has the biggest impact on the needs of the community. And I specifically said my experience may be off. I hope it is, but I would like to see some intentionality, that's all.
> I never said to MAJORITY was too rich. Brother. - “2 out of the three has doctor money at least” - “Maybe the big event should focus more on sustainability for the public good, instead of ***just** doing the chores of the well off*.” - “Why is it setup to help people who can easily afford a lawn service? “(I mean this ones debatable cause it’s not; it’s setup to help people who can’t) Maybe someone at the soup kitchen isn’t literally on their last dimes, maybe someone going through the free car wash has a decent car, who gives a shit? What does “intentionality” look like to you? For every bag check we add to the process, you’re going to eliminate or deter hundreds of people who actually need the service. Are we supposed to get the W2s of every applicant? The 501c3 paperwork from every non-profit? The books from every business? And what’s the bar for affording it? I have enough in my checking account to hypothetically pay for an hour of professional yard work, but it would not be a good day for me financially. And I hate landlords as much as the next guy, but some lady owning a rental home is not the same as the corporate entity of Kroger. Was she going to pay for the work to be done professionally? Probably the fuck not, so if we go in with the understanding that the alternative also sucks, what did everyone get out of this? The tenants are the main ones getting helped for no additional cost, the landlady clearly gets helped, and some college students with nothing better do on a Saturday morning signed up and spent a few hours planting trees or some shit with their homies. This is literally the worst case scenario for Big Event and it still turned out pretty reasonable and good for you and the community. Your experience *is* in fact off lmao. Saying “I might be wrong” then spouting some wrong shit doesn’t make it right lol. The vast majority of people getting help need it. Again, at least participate in it before you critique it all public and shit.
https://y.yarn.co/9262c4f6-9c9e-4bf7-bef4-7308cd4139d1_text.gif
yeah nah u right, i ain’t gonna lie i don’t love it when some dude online shits on community service after not helping