Jazmyne Sutton
Staff Writer
More than 1,400 students, faculty, staff and alumni made their way to Smother’s parking lot, grabbed a quick breakfast, loaded buses and headed out to serve Los Angeles and Ventura counties for Step Forward Day Saturday.
“The event was very successful,” said junior Meredith Grant, a Step Forward Day coordinator. “Everyone had a good attitude and had a good time.”
Grant coordinated Saturday’s event along with Senior Jessica Ernest.
This year was the event’s 20th anniversary. Grant said the tradition has grown vastly since it began in 1988.
“Twenty years ago, five people showed up in the amphitheater to Step Forward [Day],” Grant said. “It’s grown a lot since then. It’s very exciting.”
The students served at locations in Malibu including Webster Elementary School, and also at sites across the greater L.A. area.
“Working in the elementary school made me feel like I was giving back to the city of Malibu,” freshman Rachel Cote said.
Back in 1988, the event began locally, as the volunteers were limited to helping help senior citizens in Malibu with projects, such as hanging picture frames or mowing lawns. Now, Step Forward Day serves large organizations, such as The Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA, according to Grant.
This year, volunteers served at 45 different locations and completed 4,200 hours of service in one day.
Food Share was one of the charities with which students volunteered. It is a food bank for Ventura County. Volunteers from Pepperdine have been serving at the bank on Step Forward Day for the past three years. The center receives food donations and then distributes the collections to local pantries, agencies and churches, to feed people in the Ventura area.
Food Share’s volunteers spent Saturday at the warehouse in Oxnard, organizing non-perishable food and pre-sorting for distribution around the area.
“They were a very good group,” said Raul Cervantes, a manager for the center. “I had a really good time with them.”
Pepperdine volunteers also served at the Dream Center in Downtown Los Angeles. The center helps the homeless and those living in poverty in the area.
“We have over 250 different outreach programs,” said Hillary Bylund, who works for Dream Center. “We are all about building relationships with people. We help them get their lives back on track.”
Other volunteers spent time at the Conejo Valley YMCA, where they painted restrooms, weeded the grounds and cleaned toys.
“We’ve had them come out before,” said Conejo Valley YMCA Director Janelle Achenbach. “They were all so willing to help. They got here early and so many people came. It was so great.”
After a morning of volunteer work, students, faculty and alumni returned to Alumni Park for an In-N-Out Burger lunch and a performance by Texas band, Nelo. Also in the park, a volunteer fair was set up to provide students with information regarding other opportunities in which they can serve, during the year.
“Being a part of an event this large makes a statement about what Pepperdine is about,” said Volunteer Center Director Ashley Nolan.
Not only did people participate in Malibu, but alumni across the nation also formed groups to help in their local areas.
“It felt good to help out areas of our community that needed improvement,” freshman Natalie Hague said. “It was also fun to work together with other students and get to know them better.”
Alum Stacy Nelson, who graduated in 1989, came with her 9 year-old daughter.
“I thought it would be important to teach her about giving back,” Nelson said. “We helped in a small way by doing something fun.”
Nolan said the event reflects Pepperdine’s motto: “Freely ye received, freely give.”
“That is what Step Forward Day is all about,” Nolan said
09-11-2008