Many bobcats faced an early wakeup call on Saturday, marking Quinnipiac’s fourth annual Big Event.

On Saturday, April 6, more than 1,500 Quinnipiac students, faculty and alumni volunteered in the greater Hamden area at 95 different sites as part of the university’s day of community service. This year’s turnout was a Big Event record, and for the third consecutive year, volunteer numbers have grown.

The Big Event began at Texas A&M University in 1982 when the student government planned a day of community service, allowing students to give back to their community. The Big Event has since blossomed into the largest student-run service day in the nation. Seventy-five colleges from all over the country are now participants in the day of service, according to the Big Event website.

Students at Quinnipiac performed an array of community service. Some helped clean Sleeping Giant State Park across the street from Quinnipiac, while others volunteered at Hamden schools, community centers, children’s centers and many other sites around Connecticut. Other students stayed on the Mount Carmel Campus, preparing sandwiches and making pillows for local shelters.

The Big Event, which first came to Quinnipiac in 2010, boasted 680 volunteers in its first go around, but has more than doubled its volunteer numbers in just four years.