Community Engagement News

Emphasis on “Taking the First Steps Towards Justice”

Students tend the campus garden on MLK Day of Service. Produce from the garden is distributed in the community to relieve food insecurity.

On Barry’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, students and other volunteers considered the importance of “Taking the First Steps Towards Justice.”

Because of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), it was a scaled-down day of service. Volunteers engaged in various tasks in the Barry Urban Garden, picked up litter from the sidewalks and verges in La Paloma, and assisted Cristo Rey Miami High School with its promotion and recruitment efforts.

At the start of the event, participants gathered at the Health and Sports Complex pavilion to talk about the importance of “Taking the First Steps Towards Justice,” the day’s theme. In honor of the civil rights leader’s legacy, they decried injustice and committed to doing what they can to create a more just community.

Barry Service Corps Fellow Liz Calvo said: “My next steps in service will involve working with several advocacy groups to abolish the death penalty for those with mental disabilities and handicaps and work towards educating my community about mental health.”

Diana Noriega, another student leader, said her “next steps … include helping people in a more professional setting.” Without being specific, she added that she wants to help in “changing people's lives day by day.”

Earlier, as she said the opening prayer, BSC Fellow Autumn Davis invoked Dr. King’s 1963 declaration that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Volunteers, including Dr. Victor Romano, at the Cristo Rey School site in North Miami. They assisted with the school’s promotion and recruitment efforts. Cristo Rey’s motto is “College Ready, Career Prepared.”

Kaitlyn Gallagher, an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) member who facilitated the service project in the garden, reminded volunteers that produce from the campus garden is distributed in the community to help relieve food insecurity.

Two groups of MLK Day of Service volunteers walked from campus to the Cristo Rey school site—a former church premises at 125th NE 119th Street in North Miami—where they heard about the school network’s Catholic education offering, with emphasis on college and career readiness. They learned that Cristo Rey is a network of preparatory high schools that “builds the competence, confidence, and aspiration of students from low-income communities and motivates them to live fulfilling lives of faith, purpose, and service.”

Afterwards, one group assembled promotional and recruitment materials in kits for distribution while the other helped with door-to-door promotion of the 39th school in the Cristo Rey network.

Volunteers in the Barry Urban Garden on campus. They mainly weeded and added manure to garden plots before planting fruit saplings.

Courtney Berrien, associate director of the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI), welcomed the volunteers. She also thanked the CCSI-based AmeriCorps VISTA members, including Gabriel Bouani and Joseph Minani, for their day of service project facilitation.

The volunteers included Dr. Victor Romano, associate provost for student success and undergraduate studies, and Dr. Glenn Bowen, executive director of the CCSI. Dr. Sarah Riva, assistant professor of history, was in attendance.

BSC Fellows Samuel Vilmeau, Autumn Davis, and Skylar Smith were seen as good role models for their peers and the children who turned out on the Saturday just before the King holiday earlier this month.

State Legislator to Take Part in Forum Hosted by Campus Democracy Project Committee This Wednesday

The Campus Democracy Project (CDP) Committee will host a forum this Wednesday (Jan. 26), and a Florida legislator will participate.

State Senator Jason Pizzo (District 38) and legislative staff members will take part in the virtual town hall-style Legislative Forum, scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.

Pizzo is chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee.

“He will talk frankly about what’s going on in the state legislature and answer questions,” said Dr. Sean Foreman, a leader of Barry’s CDP.

Florida Senate staff members, including Barry alumnus Antonio “Toni” Rodriquez, will take part as well. An aide to Senator Annette Taddeo (District 40), Rodriquez is a former CDP leader.

The public forum will be held via Zoom, and registration is required.

Students, Faculty, and Staff Urged to Submit Nominations for Ninth Annual Community Engagement Awards

Students, faculty, and staff are urged to submit nominations for Barry’s Ninth Annual Community Engagement Awards. Nominations should be submitted to the CCSI by this Friday, January 28.

The main purpose of the Community Engagement Awards is to publicly recognize students, faculty, staff/administrators, departments, and community partners for their participation, contributions, and achievements in various areas of community engagement. Each award is designed to encourage excellence in university–community collaboration and to inspire similar achievements by others.

Nominations are being accepted in seven categories: Community Impact, Community Partnership, Community-Based Research, Community-Engaged Scholarship, Community Engagement Educator, Service-Learning Faculty, and Engaged Department.

• The Community Impact Award is presented to individual students and student organizations for exemplary civic engagement—including service, research, and advocacy—that has a measurable impact on the community.
• The Community Partnership Award recognizes exemplary partnerships between university and community constituencies that produce measurable improvements in people’s lives while enhancing higher education.
• The Community-Based Research Award is presented to scholars (faculty members and/or students) who conduct rigorous research with community partners in response to community concerns, issues, or needs.
• The Community-Engaged Scholarship Award is given to faculty members in recognition of significant scholarly work across the faculty roles of teaching, research, and service that addresses community issues.
• The Community Engagement Educator Award honors administrators and faculty members for significant contributions to the institutionalization or enhancement of community engagement at Barry University.
• The Service-Learning Faculty Award goes to faculty members for exemplary integration of community-based or community-focused collaborative service into the curriculum.
• The Engaged Department Award is presented to departments for achievements in advancing the community engagement goals of the university, educating students for civic and social responsibility, and improving community life.

Sister Mary Frances Fleischaker, a theology faculty member, won the Service-Learning Faculty Award last year.

The award winners last year were the Barry Premier Events Team (Conference and Event Services, Information Technology, and Marketing), for Community Engagement Support; Isaly Ortiz and Dai’ Jonnai Smith—Community Impact; Bread for the World—Community Partnership; Dr. Jalane Meloun—Community Engagement Educator; Sister Mary Frances Fleischaker—Service-Learning Faculty; and the Andreas School of Business—Engaged Department.

The 2022 Community Engagement Awards Ceremony is scheduled for the last Wednesday of March. Additional information and the nomination forms are available at the CCSI website and from Dr. Glenn Bowen in the CCSI.

Deadline for Submitting Community Engagement Symposium Presentation Proposals is This Friday

The deadline for submitting nominations for Barry’s Eighth Annual Community Engagement Symposium is this Friday, January 28.

Students, faculty, and staff members, as well as community partners, are invited to submit proposals that address the theme, “Effectively Balancing Community Impact with Student Learning Outcomes.”

• Presentation Format: The presentation must be either audiovisual or in a poster format.
• Student Learning Outcomes: The learning outcomes of the course, program, or project must be listed in the proposal.
• Community Impact: The impact of the course, program, or project on the community—community partner, agency clients, and/or residents—must be described.
• Participant Engagement: A brief statement of how the presentation will engage attendees must be included.
• Abstract: An abstract of approximately 80 words must be included in the proposal.
• Submission Deadline: Proposals for 50-minute presentations should be submitted by January 28.

All proposals for session presentations at the Symposium will be evaluated by peer reviewers.

The session proposal form is available at the CCSI website and via email at service@barry.edu.

FEDERAL WORK-STUDY COMMUNITY SERVICE PLACEMENTS AVAILABLE TO ELIGIBLE STUDENTS

Students eligible for Federal Work-Study (FWS) are urged to apply for community service positions. All students participating in FWS Community Service are members of the Barry Service Corps (BSC).

The BSC is a civic engagement program managed by the CCSI. While gaining valuable work experience, members address issues affecting local communities.

The CCSI coordinates FWS Community Service in partnership with Financial Aid and Human Resources.

For further information, contact Emmanuel Ikpuri, program facilitator for FWS Community Service, via email: bsc@barry.edu.

Copies of BarryEngage are available from the CCSI.

GivePulse is the community engagement platform that supports service-learning courses at Barry.

HOUSING FAILURE: An author talks about the failure of American housing and then a panel of affordable housing advocates weighs in.

COLLEGE BRIDES WALK: The schedule for next month’s College Brides Walk includes five virtual events.

Community Engagement News is a publication of the Center for Community Service Initiatives.

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