Volunteers from Pepperdine fan out to help others

Ventura County’s FOOD Share got a helping hand from Pepperdine University volunteers on Saturday.

Eight students and staff members sorted donated boxes of cookies and crackers at the regional food pantry’s Oxnard headquarters as part of the private university’s Step Forward Day, an annual day of service started 21 years ago. Other Pepperdine students and staff members were working at other Southern California locations, including a Habitat for Humanity affordable-housing construction site in Piru.

A university spokeswoman said students and staff members volunteered Saturday at 53 nonprofit and community organizations, mainly in Los Angeles County. Groups benefiting from the volunteer help included those that help the homeless and low-income families, schools and youth groups, community gardens and housing.

“I think it’s a great program that really gets you involved in doing something for other people,” said Felicia Fields-Izumitami, 51, who works in library information services at Pepperdine Law School. “And, it fulfills the Christian mission of the school and it’s invigorating.”

FOOD Share, at 4156 South Bank Road, collects donated food items and distributes them to more than 150 agencies in Ventura County, which in turn distribute food to more than 41,000 needy people each month. The nonprofit’s Brown Bag and Snack Attack programs provide supplemental nutrition to about 1,800 low-income seniors and after-school snacks to about 1,800 children, according to agency officials.

Simon Centeno, who supervises the breakdown of deliveries and the repacking of food items for distribution, said he normally gets volunteer help twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so having some extra help on Saturday was a boost.

“If they weren’t here, I’d be by myself,” he said. “This is helping me pick up the pace.”

Herb Cihak, associate dean for library and information technology and a professor of law at Pepperdine, said Step Forward Day is an important way of modeling leadership to students.

“It’s an important thing for us to be involved in service, because that’s what we are trying to teach the students — lives of purpose, service and leadership,” Cihak said. “I think it’s important for us to get out into the community and show we do care for people.”

Cihak said his group was “making up boxes that have all assortments of cookies and things like that.”

Alumni from the university also volunteered their time Saturday to help nonprofit organizations in about 20 communities across the nation and in Japan, university officials said.

“Because we have that more biblical focus, we just try to be Christlike and that’s why we do this,” said Dolly Sznyter, 19, from Pennsylvania, a sophomore studying creative writing.