Baylor Students ‘Step Out’ to Serve the Community April 9

More than 1,800 students will volunteer at 65 work sites throughout Waco

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Media contact: Lori Fogleman, (254) 710-6275
WACO, Texas (April 8, 2016) – Every semester, Baylor University partners with the Waco community for a day of service. This semester’s Steppin’ Out will take place on Saturday, April 9, and will send hundreds of students out among 65 different work sites throughout the city.
“Steppin’ Out is a great Baylor tradition that serves as an opportunity for students to get to know their neighbors and work to benefit Waco. This year, we are particularly excited about all of our sites, as we have a wide variety of projects for volunteers, from kayaking to cleaning the Brazos to helping distribute up to 40,000 pounds of food,” said Sara Long, student director of the Steppin’ Out Steering Committee.
At about a third of the sites, students will scrape, sand and paint houses for local residents. Other sites will include landscaping and yard work, trimming bushes, cleaning out gardens and collecting trash.
Steppin’ Out is organized and put on by the students who serve on the Steppin’ Out Steering Committee. The students work hard to ensure everything runs smoothly, from work sites to registration to logistics.
“The Steppin’ Out committee orchestrates a unique opportunity for volunteers to be a part of a united service effort that reaches more than 100 homeowners and businesses in Waco every year,” said Jamie Wong, a member of the Steppin’ Out Steering Committee. “I know that it is not within my own capability to reach so many people in such a short amount of time, which is why I love being a part of a team that utilizes the Baylor student body to serve Waco and build relationships.”
Alyssa Wilkerson, external director for Steppin’ Out, considers her time on the committee as an integral time in her Baylor career.
“My favorite part of Steppin’ Out is when I visit the sites and engage with people, whether it is having dinner, having a conversation on a porch swing or while working with the homeowners,” she said. “I feel like it is so easy to get caught up in all the activities going on around campus, classes and homework that I forget there is an entire city that could benefit from our help.”
Steppin’ Out was developed in 1985 to enhance student involvement in the local community and build community awareness, interaction and collaboration between Baylor and its surrounding neighborhoods. To date, it is one of the largest community service projects on an American college campus.
Steppin’ Out has many campus and community partners, including their platinum sponsors: Brothers Management, Aramark and Baylor University Student Government.
For more information, contact Steppin_Out@baylor.edu.
by Bethany Harper, 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 16,000 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.