Step Forward Day Recap: Men's Volleyball
9/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
MALIBU, California - The 28th annual Step Forward Day was celebrated at Pepperdine on Saturday (Sept. 10), and the Waves' athletic teams were out in full force serving the community.
Thousands of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends, as well as dozens of campus organizations, including classes, dorms, fraternities, sororities, and clubs, came together to assist nonprofit organizations, schools, churches and parks throughout Southern California.
Step Forward Day began in 1988 when two Pepperdine students recognized the need for volunteers in the local community and sought to encourage service among their peers. The projects began as small acts of service from helping to repair homes of local senior citizens to planting gardens at Webster Elementary School. Today the annual event has grown not only across Southern California, but also to communities nationwide as Pepperdine alumni step forward to help.
The men's volleyball team stayed on campus to put on a youth clinic. Student-athlete James Gehrels provided this account of his team's experience:
For the third straight Step Forward Day, the Pepperdine men's volleyball team had the pleasure of working a clinic on Alumni Park in conjunction with the U.S. Youth Volleyball League. It was an incredible experience to be able to work with and interact with kids and parents who have a love for the game of volleyball. Being able to give back to the community that supports us is a crucial part to being a Pepperdine Wave and something that we as a team take great pride in.
Seeing how much the kids learned and improved over just a few short hours was extremely rewarding and hearing how thankful they were for us taking some time out of our day to coach them made the whole experience more than worth it.
