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January 22, 2018 | |||
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University Honors Civil Rights Leader’s Memory with Day of Service CCSI Registers Four Organizations as Community Partners Community Engagement Fair Takes Place Tomorrow Nominations for Community Engagement Awards Close Friday Deadline for Symposium Presentation Proposals is This Friday Service-Learning Fellowship Application Deadline is February 5 Engaged Scholarship Seminar Set for Noon Tomorrow Barry Men’s Soccer Team Supports Calvary Youth Soccer League
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University Honors Civil Rights Leader’s Memory with Day of Service
Barry University honored the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. earlier this month with a day of service in
More than 100 volunteers participated in projects that supported communities affected by institutionalized discrimination. Students, faculty, staff, family members, and community partners engaged in neighborhood beautification, community garden maintenance, ecological restoration, and school grounds improvement.
The community service projects took place at
At
At Apostolic Faith, volunteers painted interior doors of the church building, organized the children’s playroom, installed a basketball hoop, and cleared the garden of weeds and litter. The church is home to a number of community outreach programs, including a youth summer camp.
In addition, a group of students and staff supported the work of
Dr. Scott Smith, vice president for student affairs, with his wife and their three children, took part in the project at Brownsville. They cleared land and planted trees, marking the beginning of a one-acre farm and food forest. Dr. Leticia Vega and Dr. Christoph Hengartner, associate professors of biology, also served at that site with their three children.
Fabio Naranjo, a social work faculty member, with his wife and their young son, spread mulch and cleaned areas at
Barry Service Corps (BSC) Fellows served as site leaders and reflection facilitators.
Dominique McMillan, a senior, appreciated the opportunity to give back to the community. Referring to her experience at Gwen Cherry Park, she said: “The weather was amazing; so everyone had positive energy and I felt all the goodness in the atmosphere. … I would love to be a part of something like it in the future, and I would like to check back on the garden to see how much our plants have grown.”
Sophomore Dellayah Pleasure was the site leader at the The day of service culminated with on-campus reflection activities and a barbecue, which was sponsored by the Center for Student Involvement. The reflection activities involved writing and sharing messages about social justice issues.
Students also used social media to express their commitment to their community and their continued interest in service.
The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) organized MLK Day of Service with support from the Major Days of Service Committee. Among committee members who assisted were Student Affairs staff members Amanda McDole, Freddie Frage, Kimberly Timpone, and Judisha Williams.
Asha Starks, an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) member serving in the CCSI, was responsible for the overall coordination of the event. Kamilah Van, her counterpart in the Office of Mission Engagement, also assisted with project coordination.
This year’s theme was “Where Do You Stand?” It alludes to the late civil rights leader’s “Strength to Love,” from his 1963 collection of sermons about racial segregation. In that sermon, King said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
On the eve of Barry’s MLK Day of Service, President Sister Linda Bevilacqua, O.P., Ph.D., urged students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni to recommit themselves to promoting the common good and to serving the community through collaborative, productive partnerships.
In a message to the university, Sister Linda wrote: “In view of present day rhetoric, let us as Barry students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni recommit ourselves to putting flesh on our institutional Core Commitments to ‘advance the development of solutions that promote the common good and a more humane and just society.’ We are a global, inclusive university community characterized by interdependence, dignity and equality, compassion and respect for self and others. Let us renew our efforts to ‘foster peace and nonviolence, to serve local and global communities through collaborative and productive partnerships.’”
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CCSI Registers Four Organizations as Community Partners The CCSI recently registered four new community partners. They are A Child is Missing, Communities in Schools of Miami, Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, and the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust.
A Child is Missing assists law enforcement in the early search and recovery of children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and college students. The organization serves as educators and resources for children facing the potential dangers of bullying, peer pressure, and predators – both online and offline.
Services offered include missing-person alerts, sexual predator notification, and child abduction response team notification.
Communities in Schools of Miami is “an affiliate of the nation’s largest and most effective dropout prevention organization, surrounding students with a community of support to empower them to stay in school and achieve in life.”
The organization mobilizes communities to address both academic and non-academic barriers to learning. Its services include mentoring, tutoring, counseling, and leadership development.
The mission of Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center is “to empower, strengthen and uplift South Florida's Haitian community by providing free access to information and existing services to ensure its successful integration.” The North Miami-based organization “envisions a fully integrated and self-sufficient Haitian community in South Florida.”
Services include cultural competence/sensitivity training, civic skills training, employment application assistance, college scholarship support, tax preparation, youth and family advocacy, and naturalization assistance.
In 1982 the Miami City Commission established the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust to oversee the development of the historic park property.
The property is a venue for family events, community meetings, corporate meetings, and it has a pristine beachfront for swimming and water activities. In August 2002, the park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Community Engagement Fair Takes Place Tomorrow
The annual Community Engagement Fair will take place tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 23) in the Landon Student Union, beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Community partners will showcase the programs, services, and volunteer opportunities they offer in such areas as hunger and homelessness, environmental concerns, youth development, public health, and elder care.
Originally scheduled for September, this academic year’s Community Engagement Fair was moved to January because of Hurricane Irma. | |||
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Nominations for Community Engagement Awards Close Friday
Nominations for this year’s Community Engagement Awards will close this Friday, January 26. Students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community partners are urged to submit nominations by the deadline.
The nomination form is available in CEMS – the Community Engagement Management System.
The categories of awards are Community Impact, Community Partnership, Community-Based Research, Engaged Scholarship, Community Engagement Educator, Service-Learning Faculty, and Engaged Department.
The fifth annual Community Engagement Awards will be held on March 28, beginning at 5 p.m.
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Deadline for Symposium Presentation Proposals is This Friday
The deadline for the submission of proposals for concurrent-session presentations at Barry’s fifth annual Community Engagement Symposium is this Friday (Jan. 26).
The CCSI and the QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan) Implementation Committee will host the event on March 28, beginning at 9 a.m., in Room 111 of the
For further information, contact the CCSI atservice@barry.edu or QEP staff at qep@barry.edu.
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Service-Learning Fellowship Application Deadline is February 5
The application deadline for next year’s service-learning fellowships is February 5.
Two fellowships will be available for the 2018–2019 academic year. Through the fellowships, successful applicants participate in a yearlong faculty development program focused on service-learning pedagogy, practice, and associated scholarship. Each service-learning fellow gets a course release to complete a special project and eventually to serve as a faculty mentor and engaged scholar.
Fellowship details and the application form are available in the Community Engagement Management System (CEMS), which may be accessed from the CCSI homepage. For further information, contact Dr. Glenn Bowen in the CCSI at gbowen@barry.edu or 305-899-4711.
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Engaged Scholarship Seminar Set for Tomorrow
An Engaged Scholarship Seminar will be held tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 23), beginning at 12:30 p.m., in the CCSI, Adrian 208.
Engaged scholarship seminars are one feature of the program of the Faculty Learning Community for Engaged Scholarship (FLC). Any faculty member may attend the seminars.
For further information, contact Dr. Laura Finley, FLC facilitator, at lfinley@barry.edu.
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Barry Men’s Soccer Team Supports Calvary Youth Soccer League
The Barry University men's soccer team volunteered recently with the Calvary Youth Soccer League as a way to support the South Florida community.
Led by head coach Steve McCrath, the Barry men organized soccer clinics for the youngsters. They also educated parents on the sport and techniques applied. The clinic ended with the presentation of trophies to the kids.
“This experience meant a lot,” midfielder Francisco Aguirre said. “It was always nice as a kid to come out and have people guide you and show you what the sport is all about; so I can truly relate to the experience that we are giving these kids and their families.”
Junior Captain Antonio Amaya said: “I loved this experience. I loved being able to come out here and coach these kids. It was a great experience to be able to step back from being the player on the field, to instead showing kids in the community how to play and enjoy the sport that I love.”
“The players and staff from Barry University have been instrumental in making the league what it is today,” said Stephanie Gunderson, director of outreach ministry. “They serve with excellence, skill, and care. We are so grateful for their service to Calvary Sports and the community at large.”
The Calvary Youth Soccer League has served the community for 19 years now, providing a safe and family-friendly atmosphere for about 400 athletes and their parents through weekly soccer practices and games. The activities take place on the campus of Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale. |
Community Engagement News
Posted On : January 22, 2018
