February 25, 2019 | ||||||||
New Partnerships Include Jewish Community Services and Urban Strategies, Inc. Community Engagement Symposium to Feature Student Poster Competition Students Preparing to Participate in PACT Events in March and April Barry Representatives Take Part in Black History Month Event Semester’s Final Meeting of Faculty Learning Community Set for April 8 Soccer Player James Kirkham Raising Funds Toward Cystic Fibrosis Cure
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New Partnerships Include Jewish Community Services and Urban Strategies, Inc.
Here We Grow Again
The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) has added five names to its list of registered community partners, bringing the total number to 172.
The recently registered community partners include Jewish Community Services of South Florida and Urban Strategies, Inc.
The mission of Jewish Community Services is “to improve the quality of life and self-sufficiency of the Jewish and broader communities throughout South Florida in accordance with Jewish values.”
Barry students will be provided with opportunities for community engagement through JCS Helpline Services, a “24/7 source for information and resources for all health and human services in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.”
Urban Strategies, Inc. (USI) is a not-for-profit organization that specializes in results-informed human services development, planning, and strategy implementation as part of comprehensive neighborhood revitalization. Founded in 1978, USI has been involved in neighborhood transformation efforts in 24 cities and more than 40 neighborhoods across the United States.
Miami-Dade County Teen Court, North Miami Elementary School, and T.E.E.S.–Teens Exercising Extraordinary Success are the other community partners that the CCSI registered recently.
Miami-Dade County Teen Court is an alternative sanctioning program for first-time misdemeanor youthful offenders who agree to allow their peers, instead of the juvenile justice system, to determine their sentencing. Youth volunteer serve as attorneys, jurors, bailiffs, and clerks.
The Miami-Dade County Teen Court program is designed to help decrease juvenile delinquency by interrupting the beginning stages of criminal behavior.
The mission of North Miami Elementary School is “to improve academic skills, develop social maturity and physical potential, and promote emotional growth” of students. The school aims to help students develop skills necessary to become resourceful and productive citizens in an ever-changing world.
Teens Exercising Extraordinary Success (T.E.E.S.) seeks to “help youth find their dreams through educational and personal enrichment.” The organization is “committed to the intellectual and economic development of the youth based on respect for self and family, spirituality, justice and integrity.”
T.E.E.S. programs include year-round Teen Table Talks, an interactive conversation with middle- and high-school teens focused on social and community issues affecting their lives. The organization’s Black Male Youth Summit takes place semiannually.
The CCSI is charged with coordinating community partnerships as part of ongoing efforts to “ensure that Barry will be recognized as a responsive community leader – a reliable resource for expertise, knowledge dissemination and public service to the diverse communities we serve.”
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Community Engagement Symposium to Feature Student Poster Competition
A Student Poster Competition will be a feature of the Community Engagement Symposium next month. The purpose of the competition is to showcase and recognize students’ course-based and co-curricular work that has a community engagement component.
Entries for the competition will be displayed during the Poster Session. Although any student, faculty, and staff member may participate in the Poster Session, the competition is open only to undergraduates.
Representatives of Barry’s Community Advisory Committee will serve as judges. They will use such criteria as content, relevance, and visual appeal to assess the entries.
Scheduled for March 27, the Sixth Annual Community Engagement Symposium is being organized around the theme, “Bringing Learning to Life through Community Engagement.”
The Poster Session is slated for Room 112 of the Andreas Building, from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. Prizes will be presented during the Closing Session of the symposium, beginning at 3:30.
Barry’s QEP is titled “Fostering Personal and Social Responsibility through Experiential Learning.” Among the categories of QEP learning outcomes is “Community Engagement and Collaboration.”
For additional information on the Student Poster Competition, contact QEP Project Assistant Daniqua Williams at qep@barry.edu or 305-899-3696.
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Students Preparing to Participate in PACT Events in March and April
Barry students are gearing up for a major PACT (People Acting for Community Together) event next month. They have also begun preliminary preparations for a follow-up event in April.
The students will assist PACT mainly with contacting local policymakers, doing data entry, and checking in attendees at the events.
PACT is a coalition of 39 congregations – churches, synagogues, and mosques – and two universities representing more than 50,000 people in Miami-Dade County. A "direct action” organization, PACT aims to unite, organize, and train leaders from diverse congregations, schools, and community groups to build a powerful community voice and hold officials accountable to achieve systemic change by promoting fairness, justice, and democracy throughout the county.
The PACT Rally – a North County Rally as well as a South County Rally – will take place on consecutive days in March. The event will include an interfaith prayer session, updates on issues being addressed by the coalition, and reports on preparations for Nehemiah Action.
The three-hour rally for the northern section of Miami-Dade County will be held on March 11 at Mount Hermon AME Church at 17800 Northwest 25th Avenue, Miami Gardens, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Nehemiah Action is expected to attract more than 1,500 people interested in such issues as immigration, affordable housing, gun violence, and school discipline. PACT members will present research on various issues and ask public officials to make commitments to implementing specific solutions.
Nehemiah Action is scheduled for April 1, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m., at New Birth Baptist Church, 2300 Northwest 135th Street, Miami.
Barry faculty and staff members will join students for both events.
“Our goal is to have 75 people at the Nehemiah Action,” said Experiential Learning Coordinator Liz James.
Last year, PACT proposed policy reforms aimed at decreasing the number of county residents being deported because of their immigration status, increasing access to affordable housing, reducing gun violence, and improving approaches to school discipline.
For more information about PACT activities and how to get involved, contact James at ljames@barry.edu or 305-899-3728. To register for the upcoming PACT events, visit www.barry.edu/service and click “Get involved.”
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Barry Representatives Take Part in Black History Month Event
“Black Migrations: Extraordinary Diversity.” That was the title of a presentation by a Barry faculty member at a Black History Month event in Hollywood (Broward County) on February 12.
Dr. Tisa McGhee, an associate professor in Barry’s School of Social Work, traced patterns of migration, from the “first wave” that began in 1910 to the influx of people from the Caribbean, which started around 1970.
McGhee – a member of the Miami-Dade County’s Black Affairs Advisory Board and the Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust – said immigrants had become an integral part of communities throughout Florida. She also noted that immigrant entrepreneurs had invigorated South Florida’s economy.
Dr. Glenn Bowen, executive director of Barry’s Center for Community Service Initiatives, introduced McGhee at the event. Her presentation set the stage for a panel discussion on “Black Migrations,” the national theme of Black History Month.
In the audience were Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy and City Commissioners Richard S. Blattner and Linda Sherwood.
Tomorrow (Tuesday,February 26), a poetry/spoken word competition will take place in the Commission Chamber at Hollywood City Hall, 2600 Hollywood Boulevard. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a reception.
Billed as the 3rd Annual Talented 10th Poetry Slam, the competition is open to high school students in Broward. The theme of the competition is “Black Migrations – Movement of the People.”
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Semester’s Final Meeting of Faculty Learning Community Set for April 8
The semester’s final meeting of the Faculty Learning Community for Engaged Scholarship (FLC) will be held on April 8. The CCSI will host the meeting from 2:00 to 3:15 p.m. in Adrian 208.
Members as well as prospective members are invited to the meeting.
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Soccer Player James Kirkham Raising Funds Toward Cystic Fibrosis Cure
By Dennis Jezek, Jr.
Barry University men’s soccer player James Kirkham will paddle from Bimini in the Bahamas to Lake Worth, Fla., to raise funds and awareness of cystic fibrosis. The Buccaneer junior will participate in Crossing For A Cure, a long-distance endurance paddle challenge and international championship race.
Created by Travis Suit, Crossing For A Cure takes paddlers 80 miles across the Gulf Stream, from Bimini in the Bahamas to the Florida mainland in Lake Worth. The event was inspired by the health benefits of the ocean for those living with cystic fibrosis. Suit’s daughter Piper was diagnosed with CF when she was four years old.
Crossing For A Cure is scheduled for Father’s Day weekend. The event will begin in Bimini on June 15 at 1 a.m.
Kirkham will paddle throughout the night, following a support boat with nothing but a blue underwater light for guidance until the sun comes up.
In previous years, up to 100 paddlers have participated in the event, and at least the same turnout is expected this year. Paddlers will be organized in groups according to ability, with four to five paddlers accompanied by a support boat. Each boat will have water supplies, sun cream, food, and emergency supplies.
In Kirkham’s Own Words
"I've always wanted to challenge myself in a way that will push me to my limits, both physically and mentally; and when I stumbled across Crossing for a Cure, it was a no-brainer for me. I was inspired by other people pushing themselves to the limit for a greater cause; and hopefully, if I inspire even just one person to go above and beyond in order to help someone less fortunate, then I will be happy.
“Piper's Angels Foundation [is] doing some fantastic work for the cystic fibrosis community, and this is something I'm extremely proud to be supporting. Any money you give will be greatly appreciated. And even though I only have half an hour of paddleboard experience and may have bitten off more than I can chew with this 80-mile nonstop journey, I will put my heart and soul into it whilst hopefully overcoming my fear of open water as I go.”
About Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time. In people with CF, a defective gene causes a thick, buildup of mucus in the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. In the lungs, the mucus clogs the airways and traps bacteria, leading to infections, extensive lung damage, and eventually respiratory failure. In the pancreas, the mucus prevents the release of digestive enzymes that allow the body to break down food and absorb vital nutrients.
To donate to the CF Fund in Kirkham's name, visit the “Kirky Paddles for CF” site.
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