Baylor University Steppin' Out Celebrates 25 Years of Service

Follow us on Twitter: @BaylorUMediaCom

More than 3,000 Baylor University students will take part in service opportunities throughout the Waco community on Saturday, Oct. 30, as the university marks its 25th year of Steppin' Out, a volunteer service program.

The event will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Steppin' Out occurs once each semester. The goal is to involve students in community awareness and collaboration in service with Waco.

Steppin' Out was formed in 1985 by a few Baylor students who believed that if enough people joined together, they could make a difference in the community. Because of increased participation, it evolved in the early 1990s from an annual event to one that occurs in fall and spring semesters.

Each semester, an estimated one-fourth of the student body takes part. Through Steppin' Out, other service opportunities for student volunteers -- among them Best Buddies and Baylor Buddies -- were created. Baylor has partnered with Waco residents, the Salvation Army, Scott & White Hospice, Mission Waco and Friends for Life.

This year, approximately 70 student organizations will participate at Waco homes, Waco Charter School, Baylor's Piper Center for Family Studies and Child Development, The Art Center of Waco, Rapoport Academy and World Hunger Relief, Inc.

"The amazing thing about Steppin' Out is that the people we serve have registered and are asking for our help," said Sonja Davidson, Steppin' Out co-director.

"We don't make anyone receive our volunteers," she said. "So when students go out to a resident's home to paint their house, clean their garage or garden, it is usually work the residents have been unable to do themselves."

For more information or to register for Steppin' Out, call (254) 710-3199 or visit the Steppin' Out Homepage: https://www.baylor.edu/studentactivities/service/index.php?id=75327

by Alison Higgins, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805