Brothers of the Mississippi Alpha Chapter of Phi Delta Theta recently took part in the state’s largest day of community service, the Ole Miss Big Event. Their chapter’s participation in the day of service did not just occur on one day, as the brothers played a large role throughout the past year in planning and financing the day of service.

On the day of the Big Event, students at The University of Mississippi and fellow Phis served as voluntary participants in serving those throughout the the Oxford/Lafayette area. The day of service was a chance for the Ole Miss community to offer a big “Thank You” to the Oxford/Lafayette communities that welcome them as college students. The projects included painting, yard work, washing windows, cleaning, assisting the elderly, projects with city police officers and many others.

A year ago, two members of the chapter were selected to be a part of the 2015 Ole Miss Big Event Executive Board. Chapter President William Kneip focused his time on securing funds through private donations while he served as Co-Director of Finance and Fundraising. Sophomore William Dossett served as Director of Project Recruitment and ensured that thousands of students at Ole Miss would have the greatest opportunity to give back to their community through service. Since April of 2014, theses Phis worked every day to give others the opportunity to say “thank you.” Both brothers will return to serve on the Executive Board for the 2016 Ole Miss Big Event.

Mississippi Alpha’s commitment did not end at strong leadership and planning. The brothers of Mississippi Alpha also served as one of the largest supporters of this day of service and gave a significant monetary donation to the event.

All 200 brothers of the chapter used their time to not only participate in projects at local elementary schools and building gardens to provide sustainable and fresh food to students in Mississippi, but others also served as team leaders during the event. The team leaders were responsible for leading other groups of students as they took the day to say “thank you.”

On Saturday March 28, the members of Phi Delta Theta were thanked in front of thousands of Ole Miss students for their hard work and determination by the Directors of the Ole Miss Big Event and by Chancellor Dan Jones.

As the day ended, a record number of students gathered to complete a record number of service projects in Oxford, Mississippi. We thank the men of Mississippi Alpha for living the words of our Bond and for supporting such an event to allow all individuals the opportunity to serve.

The brothers are looking forward to an even bigger 2016 Ole Miss Big Event as the leaders plan to further promote and provide opportunity for service. Brother William Dossett hopes to grow and expand the number and variety of projects available to students in Oxford. Chapter President and Co-Director of Finance and Fundraising William Kneip hopes to be able to create an endowment through generous, local, and national donations to further sustain the rapidly expanding Ole Miss Big Event by the time he graduates in May of 2016.