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Barry Launches 75 Acts of Service with Bank of America Sponsorship
Barry University kicked off its 75 Acts of Service initiativeon October 24 by reaffirming its commitment to building partnerships primarily with nonprofit organizations and selectively with businesses to meet social and economic needs in underserved communities.
Part of Barry’s 75th Anniversary celebration, 75 Acts of Service is being sponsored by Bank of America.
Sara Herald, vice president for institutional advancement and external affairs, emphasized the importance of strategic partnerships to achieve institutional goals. She thanked Bank of America for its support of Barry’s 75th Anniversary.
“As a university, we carefully chose whom we’ll do business with,” Herald said. “We are proud of our partnership with Bank of America.”
Herald also stressed Barry’s commitment to collaborative service. She said all Barry employees and students are being asked to participate in at least one act of service this academic year.
In her remarks, Maria Alonso, Bank of America’s senior vice president and market manager for enterprise business and community engagement, congratulated the university on its “rich history of accomplishments.”
Noting that Barry and Bank of America have enjoyed a longstanding relationship, Alonso pointed to several similarities between both institutions. For example, “Barry believes in collaborative service, fostering and creating engaged citizens and enriching the educational experience through community service.” At Bank of America, she said, the commitment to corporate social responsibility “cuts across our entire company and is at the core of who we are as an organization.”
She then explained that Bank of America’s corporate social responsibility is demonstrated through philanthropy, sponsorships, investments in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods, and volunteerism.
Alonso said further that Barry students are encouraged to reach their full potential and make a difference in the world. At Bank of America, she said, “we believe that our success is inextricably linked to the success of our communities and that making a difference in the communities we call home – where we live, work, and play – is an important part of our overall commitment to the communities we serve. As a result, we have one of the most generous volunteer policies in the U.S., allowing employees to take up to two hours of paid time off each week to volunteer.”
Alonso added: “Faithful to the mission and values upon which Barry University was established, your service portfolio reflects a commitment to a diverse and inclusive community, upholds social justice and strives to create positive change in this arena and helps address environmental issues, among other pressing needs in our community. Similarly, our employee volunteer program is tasked with providing the resources to inspire, support, and encourage our employees to make an impact on meaningful issues, with a particular focus on extending our company’s work to address priority issues such as basic human needs, workforce development and education, community development and revitalization, as well as the environment.”
Dr. Glenn Bowen, director of the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI), thanked students for contributing their time, talents, and energies to community engagement projects. He told the students that they were making a considerable difference in the community.
Although the initiative was launched in October, 75 Acts of Service began in August. Between then and the launch, 13 acts of service had been completed.
For the purposes of this initiative, an act of service is a community service project or event, or a community service activity as part of a larger project or event.
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Students Participate in Make a Difference Day Projects
Dozens of Barry University students took part in Make a Difference Day service projects in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. After attending the launch of 75 Acts of Service and participating in the service project orientation on campus, they engaged in projects addressing food insecurity/hunger, environmental issues, and human rights.
Some students painted hallways and staircases at the Miami Beach
Barry volunteers also created garden beds at Urban GreenWorks Caressee Farms in Liberty
At Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, project participants discussed the problem of sea-level rise and removed refuse from the beach and mangroves. A separate group picked up trash in La Paloma, a small neighborhood northwest of campus.
In collaboration with Church World Service and Life of Freedom Center, some students served as human rights advocates. Those assigned to Church World Service wrote members of Congress urging them to support an increase in the number of Syrian refugees in the United States.
At Life of Freedom, the project focused on human trafficking. After learning about the local context of the issue from Jorge Veitia, Life of Freedom Center’s executive director, students canvassed a Miami Beach neighborhood concerning missing persons suspected of being victims of trafficking.
Barry Service Corps Fellows supervised the service projects. They also facilitated both the orientation and reflection activities.
The fourth Saturday of October is Make a Difference Day, a national day of service.
This year’s Make a Difference Day marked the launch of 75 Acts of Service, a Barry 75th Anniversary initiative organized by the CCSI in partnership with the Division of Institutional Advancement and External Affairs.
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Symposium to Highlight Partnerships that Promote Student Success
Barry University’s third annual Community Engagement Symposium will highlight university-community partnerships that contribute to student success.
Presentations are expected to include students’ application of concepts, theories, and skills learned in class on issues affecting the community; partnership principles that have guided faculty work with the community; and best practices in university–community engagement.
Proposals for presentations should be submitted by January 22.
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Community Engagement Awards: Categories Include Community Impact
Community Impact is one of the seven categories of community engagement awards for which nominations are being accepted.
The Community Impact Award will be presented to students for exemplary community engagement – including service, research, and/or advocacy – that has a measurable impact on the community. Up to three students and two student clubs/organizations may be recognized in this category.
In addition to Community Impact, the award categories are Community Partnership, Community-Based Research, Engaged Scholarship, Community Engagement Educator, Service-Learning Faculty, and Engaged Department.
The third annual Community Engagement Awards will be held on March 30. The nomination deadline is January 29.
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Next Deliberative Dialogue Scheduled for November 18
The next forum in the Deliberative Dialogue Series will be held on Wednesday, November 18, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in Room 111 of the Andreas Building on Barry’s main campus in Miami Shores. Students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community partners will exchange ideas on the topic, “Coming to America: Unaccompanied Minors on a Perilous Journey.”
For further information, contact CCSI Associate Director Courtney Berrien at cberrien@barry.edu or 305-899-4017.
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Communication Faculty Members Present at State Conference
Drs. Nickesia Gordon, Adam Dean, and Margaret Chojnacki, associate professors; Mahen Saverimuttu, assistant professor; and Dr. Rise Samra, professor – all of the Department of Communication – presented a workshop at the Florida Communication Association’s (FCA) 85th Annual Convention in Orlando recently.
Titled “Social Advocacy as Praxis in the Communication Curriculum,” the workshop was presented in the Communication Pedagogy track of the conference. The presenters discussed the incorporation of public advocacy in the communication curriculum as a high-impact educational practice that fosters engagement and social responsibility. They highlighted the successes and challenges experienced in planning the curriculum and teaching various courses. The FCA is an affiliate of the National Communication Association. The theme of the FCA’s October 22-24 convention was “New Directions in Communication.”
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Faculty Learning Community to Meet on November 18
The next meeting of the Faculty Learning Community for Engaged Scholarship (FLC) will be held on Wednesday, November 18, from 2:00 to 3:15 p.m., in Adrian 208. The FLC is open to all faculty members.
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CCSI Newsletter
Posted On : November 02, 2015
