The Big Event Draws A Crowd

If you saw a couple hundred teenagers having a party in the lot behind Bean Creative on Saturday, don't worry—they earned it.

As part of The Big Event hosted by Volunteer Alexandria, teenage students from around the city congregated in Del Ray this morning for a day of performing community service projects around town.

Before heading out to their projects, the volunteers were treated to breakfast and a motivational speech from football coaching legend Herman Boone, who led the T.C. Williams Titans to a state title in 1971. The volunteers returned to Del Ray later in the day to celebrate their accomplishments with refreshments, a raffle and music from a disc jockey.

Boone, who attended the event despite undergoing eye surgery on Friday, spoke of the importance of volunteer work and how it honors the memory of those who passed away in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

"The work you do in Alexandria, particularly the volunteer work, keeps America strong like the Titans," Boone said in his address. "Volunteering gives you opportunities to change lives, even your own."

Alexandria Mayor William Euille made a stop at The Big Event before heading out to a service project. Euille said he was "pleased and proud" so many teenagers were up bright and early on a Saturday to do work in their community.

"It's fantastic to see the kids out here to volunteer, particularly on the ninth anniversary of 9/11, to give back to the community and help to make a difference and do community service projects," Euille said. "They're getting at small projects that we as a government can't get always tend to on a timely basis."

Many of the service activities were beautification projects, which included pulling weeds and raking around community buildings, schools and parks. One group performed work in and around Mount Vernon Recreation Center in Del Ray. Other groups visited organizations like Stop Child Abuse Now of Northern Virginia and Friends of Guest House.

"At Ben Brenman Park, they're having a beaver problem," said Kelsey Haynes, a 21-year-old University of Virginia student who organized The Big Event along with a 14-member committee of Alexandria high school students. "They're getting at some of the trees, so we'll be putting wire around the bottoms of the trees."

Haynes said Boone was the first choice to be the speaker at The Big Event, even though the coach joked he was second choice behind actor Denzel Washington. Washington portrayed Boone in the 2000 Disney movie "Remember the Titans."

"I reached out to (Boone)," Haynes said. "I told him this is important, there are a lot of kids from T.C. We want to make sure we promote service and get them started on a lifetime of service. He seemed to like the idea."

The organizers expected more than 600 hours of community service performed by the estimated 200 volunteers.

Alexandria City Councilman Rob Krupicka was also in attendance, along with school board member Ronnie Campbell and Miss Alexandria Stephanie Connelly. BB&T served as primary sponsor of the event, and bank officials spearheaded one of the morning's community service projects.

"It's really exciting," said Abel Girma, a 17-year-old T.C. Williams student who served on The Big Event committee. "There are a lot of people here and I just feel the energy. It's a much better turnout than I expected."