Step Forward Day provides chance to volunteer

Sixteen organizations benefited from the event.

By Rachel Krause

Published Aug. 25, 2009

Approximately 200 students gathered Saturday morning at Tiger Plaza to take part in the seventh annual Step Forward Day, an MU volunteer event geared toward freshmen and new students.

"The goal of Step Forward Day is to provide incoming students with a means to give back to the community that is going to take care of them for at least the next four years," event coordinator Bryan Goers said. "It also gives them the opportunity to meet similar students who share interests and hopefully a chance to make new friends."

Sixteen organizations benefited from Step Forward Day, including groups on campus, such as Sustain Mizzou, and organizations off campus, such as the Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center and the Central Missouri Food Bank.

"Students are randomly assigned a site to go to on the day of the event," Goers said. "Sometimes we have entire floors at the res. halls who want to have all the students stick together and in those cases we allow them to pick out where they want to go."

Junior Claire Goodson, a member of the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, was a site leader at the event. Her duties involved providing freshmen with information about the Office of Leadership Development in the morning, as well as helping students clean up the walking trail at Blue Ridge Elementary.

"I decided to be a site leader because when I took part in Step Forward Day my freshman year I had such an amazing time," Goodson said. "I think Step Forward Day is a really great way to learn about Columbia and the wide range of service opportunities available here."

Organizations throughout Columbia benefited from the work of MU students. Chris Sharp, the executive director at Access Arts, a non-profit art school for people with disabilities, said Access Arts has been a part of Step Forward Day for three or four years.

"Being a part of Step Forward Day has been very helpful for the school every year, but this has been one of the most productive years," Sharp said.

While on site, a group of approximately 12 students washed windows, reorganized the gallery and helped set up the foundation for a new shed.

"Step Forward Day is very advantageous for both the various local organizations and the students at Mizzou," Sharp said. "I think it's a great idea."

Freshman Audrey Freiberger volunteered at the Rainbow House, a shelter and therapy center for child abuse victims.

"I decided to take part in the event to meet other students interested in volunteering," said Freiberger, who helped vacuum and pull weeds at the center. "I thought it would be a good way to get myself familiar with the community and the opportunities available and it really was."