Baylor University Continues Steppin’ Out In Service
Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, 254-710-6275
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WACO, Texas (April 5, 2018) — Baylor University will continue its tradition of serving the community through Steppin’ Out from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 7. More than 2,000 volunteers from approximately 86 student organizations and one community organization will serve at approximately 53 sites around the Greater Waco area.
The morning will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a Kick-off Celebration in the SUB Den with breakfast and t-shirt giveaways to the first 200 people. Team leaders will check-in and pick up tools/supplies from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. Volunteers serve at their sites from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Volunteers will clean, paint, organize, distribute information, dig trenches, garden and trim trees. Worksites include various parks around the city; Heart of TX Air Show; Midway Little League; Master’s Workshop Camp; Greenwood Cemetery; McLane Stadium; Caritas; Keep Waco Beautiful; Animal Birth Control Clinic; World Hunger Relief Farm; Good Neighbor House; Healthy Soul Food Demonstration; VeteRun 5K; and a variety of neighborhood associations, schools and churches.
“We want to provide students with the opportunity to do things that connect with the Waco community,” said Joan Cartledge, director of Steppin’ Out and a junior secondary education major at Baylor. “We are trying to create the connection between Baylor and Waco.”
There will be some new additions to Steppin’ Out this semester. The Steppin’ Out team opened registration to faculty and staff as well as local business and organization teams. Masonic Lodge is the first external organization to join Baylor students for Steppin’ Out. In the future, the team hopes to branch out to other organizations.
“This allows more community members to get to know students and develop relationships,” Cartledge said. “It’s an outlet for them to tell Waco about Steppin’ Out because they’ve had the chance to work with Baylor students.”
There will also be a “construction” site at McLane Stadium, where three teams of engineering students will build designs out of canned goods that will be donated to Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry. Steppin’ Out will donate approximately 6,500 cans and additional food items. The team build will begin at 8 a.m. in the Hall of Fame room to the left of the ticket office.
Judging of the final structures is expected to begin at 3 p.m.
The canned good project was accomplished through a grant from Walmart. Volunteers working with Steppin’ Out on this project include the National Society of Black Engineers and Beta Theta Tau engineering fraternity.
Steppin’ Out has been a tradition at Baylor since 1985. It is one of the largest collegiate community service projects in the United States and is nationally recognized for its commitment to service.
For more information about Steppin’ Out, visit the Steppin’ Out website.
by Joy Moton, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.