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Organizers Call for Presentation Proposals for 2019 Community Engagement Symposium Senior Nursing Students Present Posters Showcasing Community Projects Campus and Community Partners Contribute to Forum on U.S. Hunger Policy First-Time Voters Voice Their Views on Florida’s Recount Controversy Barry’s Rowing Team Walks to Promote Cancer Awareness in Community School of Social Work Volunteers Serve Dinner at Community Site Community Engagement Award Nominations: Community Community-Based Research, Engaged Scholarship
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Organizers Call for Presentation Proposals for 2019 Community Engagement Symposium
Submission Deadline is February 1
The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) and the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Implementation Committee have issued a call for proposals for presentations at Barry’s sixth annual Community Engagement Symposium.
Students as well as faculty, staff, and community partners are invited to submit proposals for oral (or podium) and poster presentations by February 1.
The theme of the symposium is “Bringing Learning to Life through Community Engagement.”
Community engagement includes experiential learning practices such as service-learning, community-based research, fieldwork, study abroad, capstones, and internships.
Proposals should address the theme of the symposium and identify the experiential learning practice that was implemented. Successful proposals will specify the course or co-curricular project, the social or community issue addressed, the related activities undertaken, and the actual learning outcomes. Proposals should also emphasize how learning “came to life”—that is, how learning was enhanced or enriched and made meaningful for the student.
Scheduled for March 27, the 2019 symposium will highlight student learning outcomes of community engagement practices in the context of Barry’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) titled “Fostering Personal and Social Responsibility through Experiential Learning.”
For additional information on the symposium, contact the CCSI at service@barry.edu.
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Senior Nursing Students Present Posters Showcasing Community Projects
The poster featuring a project focused on helping refugees navigate the
Senior students taking Nursing 422, a population-centered health course, presented posters showcasing the community projects in which they were engaged this semester.
“Refugees of North Miami: Navigating Health Care” was selected as the winning poster. The poster presenters were Olivia Ferguson, Christina Gucciardo, Gabriela Guttierez, Roselaure Isma, Nickayla Richards, Yesenia Serra, and Madison Shields.
Besides the project focused on helping refugees navigate the U.S. healthcare system, projects included the creation of an urban garden, eyesight screenings for young children at a school, and the education of women about the importance of breast screening.
The posters were reviewed and judged by Dr. Carolyn Hart, chair of nursing; Dr. Mary Colvin, director of the undergraduate nursing program; and Dr. Clare Owen, assistant program director for undergraduate nursing.
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Campus and Community Partners Contribute to Forum on U.S. Hunger Policy
Participants at a recent forum on U.S. hunger policy emphasized the need for adequate federal funding for nutrition assistance programs that benefit low-income communities. They also called for increased attention to the high rates of poverty and hunger that have left people feeling humiliated and dehumanized.
Some 40 million people in the United States, including 12 million children, are said to be “food insecure.” It means that they lack consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. For many people, food insecurity leads to hunger.
The forum, titled “Hunger Policy in America and the Politics of Nutrition Assistance,” was part of Barry’s Deliberative Dialogue Series.
Two of the suggested courses of action for students, faculty, and staff were letters to members of Congress, urging their support of programs to end hunger, and donations to food banks serving local communities.
“Why is it, in a nation that is so wealthy, people have to be humiliated and even dehumanized?” asked Dr. Phyllis Scott, dean of the School of Social Work. Calling poverty “a debilitating human experience,” she said people needed help and hope.
Scott suggested that the community become more educated on the issue of hunger and then respond appropriately. She recommended the use of social media to influence change, and advocacy to help shape public policy.
Peter England, a member of Bread for the World and retired director of government relations for Camillus House, said taxpayers should let legislators know that an effective response to hunger was necessary.
“This is a moral issue,” he said, “and we have a responsibility to let elected officials know how we feel.”
Sydney Ingram, a senior nursing student and Barry Service Corps fellow, reflected on the realities of hunger as she recounted how her family struggled to make ends meet and “did not eat healthy.” She said her family benefited from SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
Ronae Cambridge, CEO and senior pastor at Glory Temple Ministries, shared information on her organization’s function as a food pantry for TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program). The Barry alumna said Glory Temple regularly served meals to 700 families, or about 2,800 people, in Liberty City, which has the highest rate of poverty in Miami-Dade County.
Dr. Heidi LaPorte, an associate professor of social work, urged everyone to “make a commitment to do something” to assist community members experiencing hunger.
Peter England, the Bread for the World representative, said Florida’s “good Samaritan” law protects people who make food donations to relieve hunger.
Good Samaritan laws generally provide basic legal protection from liability if the assistance given has unintended consequences.
The Center for Community Service Initiatives organizes the Deliberative Dialogue Series to bring together campus and community stakeholders to exchange ideas and weigh perspectives on social issues of current concern.
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First-Time Voters Voice Their Views on Florida’s Recount Controversy
It has become clear to Isaly Ortiz why some people simply do not vote.
“After talking to my peers and seeing all this chaos kind of unfold with the election, it was easy to see now … why sometimes people feel that their vote doesn’t matter.”
The Barry student was responding to a question from NBC 6 South Florida regarding the confusion over the recounts in Florida’s midterm election.
A first-time voter, Ortiz indicated that although she understood why many of her peers were not interested in voting, she would vote in future elections.
“Some people may have felt disenfranchised,” Antonio (Toni) Rodriguez noted. “Some people may have felt that their vote wasn’t counted.”
NBC 6 reporter Marissa Bagg was on campus to talk with a small group of first-time voters about the recount controversy that swirled around the Florida governor’s race as well as a U.S. Senate seat. Jasmine McKee and Stephanie Torres were the other first-time voters who shared their views on local TV’s Channel 6.
While Florida’s repeated recounts may have decreased voter confidence, McKee said she still believed that every vote counts. And she hoped people in her age group would vote so their voices would be heard.
Stephanie Torres said she “will definitely vote” in the next general election. She will vote in person rather than by mail, she added.
The NBC 6 reporter also spoke with Dr. Sean Foreman, professor of political science. Foreman said the state’s voting system needs improvement, and he expressed optimism about future elections.
“The hope is that we will have new legislation in Florida to improve the voting system, upgrade our voting machines, and clarify the law,” Foreman said. “So it could be that out of all this mess there’s a silver lining. We hope that Florida will be better prepared for elections in 2020.”
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Barry’s Rowing Team Walks to Promote Cancer Awareness in Community
November 10 saw the Buccaneer rowing team, along with other Barry students and faculty/staff volunteers at the K-Faith & Tenaciously Pink's Cure Cancer Walk at Rolling Oaks Park in Miami Gardens, Fla. The event was hosted by Barry's chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, whose president happens to be one of the Buccaneer rowers, Orianna Camargo.
The walk was a branch of the Relay for Life. Relays for Life are held in thousands of communities around the world, spanning 27 countries. The Relay for Life organization consists of over 3.5 million survivors, advocates, patients, volunteers, caregivers, and researchers. Barry's rowing team members have consistently given their time every year volunteering for a variety of different causes.
“I am so happy that we had to opportunity to help out with this event," BarryU coxswain Madison Monett said. "We were able to hear some amazing stories about the battles that so many people had to endure. This made being able to walk and represent them and the Barry community feel great. We hope that, for next year, we will be able to bring out even more Barry students so that they will be able to experience the same emotions."
"The Cure Cancer Walk was an inspiring experience, especially because we attended and experienced the walk as a team," BarryU rowing captain Alexandra Kalinowski said. "It's great to see the team come together to motivate and encourage others. We all have the ability to make a difference, and that's what we strive to do when we volunteer."
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School of Social Work Volunteers Serve Dinner at Community Site
A group of Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) volunteers, together with some friends and family members, served dinner at the Pridelines Center earlier this month.
They served the pre-Thanksgiving dinner to persons who support the work of the center.
The volunteers included Yolmar Chacon-Garcia, Tony Fajardo, Martha Garner, Aiyana Gonzalez, Silvia Gonzalez, Oshena Hall, Isaiah Lazala, Anh Luong, Deborah Montoya, Eldred Oates, Denise Saldivar, and Ricardo Serrano.
Pridelines’ mission is to “support, educate and empower South Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and the community at large in safe and diverse environments through affirming programs and services to promote dialogue, wellness and foster social change.”
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Community Engagement Award Nominations: Community-Based Research, Engaged Scholarship
“Community-Based Research” and “Engaged Scholarship” are two of the seven categories in which Community Engagement Award nominations are being accepted.
Students, faculty, staff, and administrators are invited to submit nominations by January 28, 2019.
The other award categories are Community Impact,Community Partnership, Community Engagement Educator, Service-Learning Faculty, and Engaged Department.
The Center for Community Service Initiatives will host Barry’s sixth annual Community Engagement Awards on March 27.
The nomination forms are available in the Community Engagement Management System <http://web.barry.edu/service/ProgramView.aspx?ID=1494>.
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