The Baylor Community Steps into Service with Steppin' Out

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Students at Baylor University will spread across the Waco community to celebrate a day of service with Baylor's biannual Steppin' Out at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 27. Steppin' Out brings together student organizations to give back to the Waco community, whether it's painting homes, picking up trash from the shores of Lake Waco or cleaning up local elementary schools.

This year, 3,000 students have committed themselves to volunteer at various sites around Waco. Some of the work will benefit the World Hunger Farm.

"I am so excited to see this program grow. This year, we created a new position on the steering committee to focus specifically on creating an educational campaign," said Marianne Magjuka, coordinator of service learning initiatives at Baylor.

The event is a Baylor tradition that began in 1985 and since then, according to the Student Activities Web site, Steppin' Out has yielded 425,000 hours of labor from the Baylor community. It is one of the largest community service projects on American college campuses and a nationally recognized program for its commitment to service. It has inspired other universities to initiate a campus-wide day of service of their own.

In 1993, Steppin' Out was chartered as an independent organization under the Department of Student Activities.

Steppin' Out receives a $10,000 grant annually from the Baylor-Waco Foundation, which assists in purchasing tools. Sherwin-Williams also donates all paint used in the event.

by Colton Wright, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805