Social Work Association hosts events for National Social Work Month
The month of March marks National Social Work Month. To celebrate this month, the Social Work Association will be putting on several events across campus.
The Social Work Association, also known as SWA, meets a couple of times a month to plan social work and volunteer activities. The organization does not assess dues, and students can participate in an activity without being a member of SWA. The social work majors who are involved, however, put a special emphasis on spreading awareness.
“Most often students don’t know about social work at all. Or if they do, they have very stereotypical views,” said SWA President Maura Scudder. “It is important to remove these stereotypes and also to show that many people will encounter numerous social workers throughout their lives and may never know that [It] is their degree or title.”
As President of SWA, Scudder is responsible for coordinating the organization’s various activities and events. Scudder described four upcoming events this semester.
One of these activities is “Don’t Stop the Music, Stop the Violence” on March 7 and 8. Students pay a dollar to purchase a button and to request a song from the DJ.
“The buttons say ‘I Could Be 1 in 3,’ in relation to the statistic that one out of three college students on a college campus are raped in their four years there,” Scudder said.
In accordance with National Social Work Month, Scudder said SWA will hand out promotional items in Schwitzer Student Center to promote social work as a career and as a major.
Director of the Social Work Program Jeff Bryant emphasized the importance of spreading information to the students and giving out information to promote the program.
The association also will show the movie “The Help” on March 27. The movie screening will include pizza and a t-shirt give-away.
Another SWA event of the semester is “Buckets of Hope.” The project is to benefit Adler Bryce Shelbourne. Shelbourne is a three-year-old Indiana boy with brain cancer. Buckets will be distributed around campus, especially in social work and social science classes, asking for donations for the boy and his family.
“SWA gives you a chance to give back to the community and world you live in,” Scudder said. “Through numerous service projects and guest speakers, SWA provides opportunities for service hours and information about many volunteer opportunities.”
The final campus event for National Social Work Month is “Social Work Matters: Everywhere…Everyday.”
According to senior social work major Jeritha Callicott, the event, held March 29, will include a panel discussion of the social worker’s role and the profession in the areas of mental health: addictions, disabilities, youth, advocacy and the elderly.
There will be a panel of speakers who work in each of these fields to speak about their experiences and backgrounds. The event offers LP credit and giveaways for each student who attends.
“It is important to gain awareness in the area of social work because no matter where you are, there is a social worker available to help you,” Callicott said.
Bryant also emphasized the importance of the event to show all the different facets of social work and the opportunities it provides, in addition to dispelling the stereotypes associated with it.
“It’s giving back,” he said. “The main thing is to be able to give back. We ought to be able to give back—all majors—and to serve and help folks by being servants to our community.”
