SHANNON URTNOWSKI
& BRITTANY DEAN
Living Editor & Staff Writer
For the past 18 years, the Pepperdine Volunteer Center has encouraged students to step up to service with Step Forward Day. It has been an ongoing tradition within the community, reaching sites from Ventura County to downtown Los Angeles.
“The purpose of Step Forward Day is to get our students into their community to learn about the people of Los Angeles and Ventura, as well as to learn about the work that each organization is doing to make our community a better place,” Ashley Nolan, the Pepperdine volunteer director, said.
Last year, more than 1,400 students, staff and faculty served at more than 50 sites for Step Forward Day, performing activities such as office work, landscaping, working with children and assisting the elderly.
Jacquelyn Zampella, a co-coordinator of special events for the center, said she has high hopes for this year’s event.
“This year we hope to surpass last year’s number and again have over 1,400 students go out into the community and volunteer,” she said. “So far we have over 40 agencies working with us, and we’re really excited about the event.”
Some of the locations the agencies bring people to include Los Angeles food banks and Skid Row.
“It’s a great opportunity to introduce new students to the needs of the L.A. community,” Leslie Branch said, the volunteer center’s co-coordinator of special events.
New opportunities are also available to those students who are Step Forward Day veterans.
The center offers site leadership positions to those accustomed with the workings of the day. Upperclassmen can thus take bigger roles in the event, helping university organizations run the event.
No matter how students are involved with the day, the organizers always try to provide students with something new to look forward to, Branch said.
For example, prominent speakers attend every year giving motivational speeches.
Last year, celebrity Sean Astin, also known as “Rudy,” spoke at Eddy D. Field Stadium, talking with the volunteers about the importance of giving back to the community.
Organizers are finalizing the details of this years event.
“We’re still working on our speaker, but we always hope to have someone who is well known and has participated in the community through service,” she said.
Junior Yvette Weathersby says the best part of the day is the rewarding experience it provides.
“I enjoy Step Forward Day because it gives people an opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone and brighten the lives of people in our surrounding communities that are often marginalized,” she said.
Last year, the participants completed 4,200 hours collectively, which is equivalent to about two years of work for one person.
Students can learn about more opportunities at the center, such as Habitat for Humanity, through a volunteer fair that will conclude the event.
The deadline to sign up for Step Forward Day is midnight Sept. 5.
8-28-2006
