Students wearing matching Step Forward Day T-shirts sit with their service project groups in the Ampitheatre on Sept. 6. Volunteers from across the Pepperdine community signed up for over two dozen service projects for this year’s day of service. Photos by Melissa Houston
Over 550 members of the Pepperdine community came together to serve those in need across Malibu, Ventura County and greater Los Angeles on Sept. 6 for the 37th annual Step Forward Day, said Christin Shatzer Román, director of Community Engagement and Service (CES) at the Hub for Spiritual Life.
Started in 1988 by alumnus Scott Pitts (’88) and alumna Christy Hogan (’88), Step Forward Day is an opportunity for the Pepperdine community to get involved with dozens of service projects both on- and off-campus, according to Pepperdine’s website. Most projects are done in partnership with local nonprofits.
“We know that a member of the Pepperdine community is likely a pretty busy person, so we want to remove as many barriers to participation as possible,” Shatzer Román said. “So we’re going to do the logistics planning, we’re going to provide the transportation. Essentially, we just want folks to show up and come alongside and serve with us.”
Volunteers gathered in the morning to grab complimentary breakfast, brown Step Forward Day T-shirts and listen to a pep-rally-like send-off, which included a performance by WAVES WORSHIP and a message from senior Izzy Koo, the undergraduate student minister.
Students paint a cornhole board near the Chapel Lot on Sept. 6. Along with other lawn games decorated by volunteers, the board was donated to survivors of domestic violence via the Jenesse Center, according to the Community Engagement and Service Calendar.
After connecting with their respective service project groups, volunteers went their separate ways. On-campus projects included packing art kits for Hand in Hand, creating reusable pads for Days for Girls and managing the Waves Food Cabinets for Pepperdine students.
“I think it’s such a blessing for everyone who’s involved and for those who are receiving,” said senior Jessica Lopez, who volunteered for a project that assembled around 300 food kits for homeless locals.
Students cut liners for reusable pads as part of the Days For Girls service project in Smothers Lot on Sept. 6. The nonprofit works to increase access to menstrual products and health education across the globe.
Over 200 of this year’s participants helped install the Waves of Flags display on Alumni Park, an annual memorial commemorating the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Alumnus John Bossler (‘80), a 9/11 survivor who escaped the World Trade Center’s Tower One after the first plane struck, planted the first flag. Hung Le, the vice chancellor for Alumni Affairs, President Jim Gash and First Lady Joline Gash also planted flags.
“We really like doing that — supporting our veterans and supporting our old coach Marv Dunphy,” said Ryan Barnett, Graziado student and Seaver alumnus (’25), who volunteered on the Waves of Flags display alongside fellow Men’s Volleyball teammates.
Dunphy — who retired from Pepperdine in 2017 — is a Vietnam War veteran, according to the Los Angeles Times.
President Jim Gash and First Lady Joline Gash plant an American flag on Alumni Park on Sept. 6. The Waves of Flags will be the backdrop for an upcoming Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony featuring actor Dennis Quaid as the keynote speaker, according to Pepperdine’s website.
Most of this year’s projects were held off campus, according to the CES project calendar. Volunteers helped survivors of domestic violence at the Jenesse Center in Jefferson Park, served lunch at three Hope the Mission temporary housing facilities and participated in a weeding project in Point Dume. A service project at the Best Friends Animal Society’s pet adoption center in West LA filled with sign-ups “immediately,” Shatzer Román said.
Although Step Forward Day itself is over, there’s still more to come from CES, Shatzer Román said. The next major event, partnered with around 200 nonprofits and local Assembly Member Jacqui Irwin, will take place Sept. 27 in Alumni Park and include about a dozen service projects. Beyond that, a typical semester has around three to five service projects each week, which are posted on the continuously updated CES project calendar.
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