Baylor Family to Take Part in Steppin’ In Challenge to Serve Local Communities

April 9, 2020
Steppin In Challenge

Baylor’s traditional Steppin’ Out day of service adapts to go virtual with global impact

Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-709-5959
Follow us on Twitter: @BaylorUMedia

WACO, Texas (April 9, 2020) – For 35 years, thousands of Baylor University students have served the Waco community every fall and spring through Steppin’ Out, the University’s beloved traditional day of service and one of the largest student-led collegiate community service projects in the United States.

Although this spring’s in-person Steppin’ Out was canceled, that has not stopped Baylor students, alumni and members of the Baylor Family – wherever they are around the country and across the globe – from taking an active role in service to their communities through the 2020 Steppin’ In Challenge. The Steppin’ In Challenge will be held on Saturday, April 18, the original date of Steppin’ Out.

“With the recent changes in response to COVID-19, we have found an excellent way to adapt Steppin’ Out by going virtual with the Steppin’ In Challenge,” said Doriann Beverly, Ph.D., senior coordinator for community service in Baylor’s Office of Community Engagement and Service. “The Steppin’ In Challenge takes into account the limitations related to fighting COVID-19 and provides an accessible opportunity for the Baylor Family to serve according to any schedule and in whatever capacity they are able.

“By rallying together to serve our neighbors on this special day, our hope is that a commitment to caring for one another would be sustained as we continue to face this new season as a family,” Beverly said.

A list of suggested activities for Baylor students and for alumni, friends and families can help participants get started with ideas to do at home as well as online opportunities for virtual service. The activities focus on low or no-cost acts of service that can positively impact neighbors and communities. Participants are encouraged to share their acts of service on social media by tagging Baylor University on Instagram (@bayloruniversity), Twitter (@Baylor) and Facebook (@bayloruniversity1845).

As the nation and world responds to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing is in place to help curb its spread, Beverly said it is perhaps even more important than ever to seek and find ways to serve friends, neighbors and communities.

“In 1 Peter 4:10, we are reminded that ‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms,’” she said. “In response to our call to steward this grace, and to our institutional mission to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service, we believe that Baylor students, employees and alumni all around the world have special gifts and encouragement to offer their communities during this time.”

The Office of Community Engagement and Service is housed within Baylor’s Academy for Leader Development.

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 18,000 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 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.