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Peace Month Program Includes Deliberative Dialogue and Service Project
September is Peace Month at Barry University. The program includes a forum on police-community relations and a community service project focused on hunger awareness and action.
Part of the Deliberative Dialogue Series, the 90-minute forum titled “The Police and the Community: Who is Protected and Served?” is scheduled for Monday, September 21, in Room 112 of the Andreas Building, beginning at 4:00 p.m.
The community service project, which is slated for Saturday, September 12, will support Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month initiative.(See details in a related story below.)
In South Florida, nearly 800,000 people are “food insecure,” according to Feeding South Florida, the regional affiliate of Feeding America. That number includes more than 280,000 children.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has emphasized that food security contributes to a peaceful world. And the International Commission on Peace and Food has declared, "Hunger anywhere threatens peace everywhere."
The community service project will also mark Barry’s participation in the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance.
The Corporation for National & Community Service has noted that the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance is an occasion to honor the lives lost and “commemorate the spirit of compassion and generosity” demonstrated after the tragic events of that day in 2001.
In a Peace Month statement, Barry’s Office of Mission Engagement says the university’s commitment to social justice calls our community “to foster peace and non-violence, to strive for equality, to recognize the sacredness of Earth, and to engage in meaningful efforts toward social change.”
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Barry Volunteers to Support Hunger-Action Efforts in September
Barry University volunteers will support hunger-action efforts in September, Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month. Participation in Feeding South Florida’s Sort-A-Thon is one of three ways in which students, alumni, faculty, and staff will lend their support.
Part of a nationwide initiative of Feeding America, Hunger Action Month is aimed at raising awareness of the issue of hunger in the United States and at mobilizing the public to take appropriate action. Feeding America launched Hunger Action Month eight years ago, and it has been on the calendar every year since then.
The three ways in which Barry volunteers will take part in Hunger Action Month are outlined below.
- Go Orange on Hunger Action Day, September 3: Hunger Action Day is the first Thursday of September. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to wear orange this Thursday. Barry Service Corps Fellows will distribute orange ribbons with “Quick Facts” about hunger in South Florida. - Campus-wide Food Drive, September 3–30: Boxes will be placed at various locations on the Miami Shores campus. Students and employees are asked to donate non-perishable food items, which will be delivered to Feeding South Florida at the end of the month.
- Sort-A-Thon at Feeding South Florida, September 12: Volunteers will take part in Feeding South Florida’s 3rd annual Sort-A-Thon, a 24-hour project that will begin at 6:00 p.m. on September 11, in the organization’s warehouse. The warehouse is located at 2501 SW 32nd Terrace, Pembroke Park, in Broward County. The Barry volunteers will work the 3:00–6:00 p.m. shift on Saturday. Volunteers are encouraged to wear Barry apparel and are required to wear closed-toe shoes.
Feeding America is a nationwide network of food banks and the largest domestic hunger-relief organization. Feeding South Florida is the region’s member of the Feeding America network.
For further information and to sign up, contact Liz James in the CCSI, 305-899-3728 or ljames@barry.edu.
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CCSI Selects 19 Students as Barry Service Corps Fellows
The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) has selected 19 students as this year’s Barry Service Corps (BSC) fellows. They will participate in a yearlong civic learning and leadership program that promotes social justice.
The group includes four students who have participated in the program since its inception during the 2013–2014 academic year. They are sophomore Akil Andrews, an English professional writing major; junior Seretse Davis and senior Donté Roberts, sport management majors; and senior Alejandro Tobon, a biology major.
Previously called Barry Service Corps Leaders, the group also includes five students who were members last year. They are Mickaelle Celigny (senior, computer information science); Kevin Dalia (junior, pre-law); Gilberte Jean-Francois (junior, nursing); Quayneshia Smith (junior, social work); and Rajon Wright (junior, computer information science).
The newcomers are Taleah Becton (senior, public relations); Emmanuella Carriere (senior, pre-law); Alberto Liriano and Nylisha Matos (sophomore, biochemistry); Presler Maxius (junior, psychology); Christian Mesa (sophomore, general studies); Paola Montenegro (junior, international studies); Christopher Riker (senior, English and public relations); Matenin Sheriff (sophomore, social work); and Asha Starks (senior, SESA – applied sport and exercise sciences coaching).
The Barry Service Corps is composed mainly of students registered for the current year’s Federal Work-Study Community Service Program.
The BSC fellows participated in an orientation program from August 17 to 21. They received diversity training, visited community agencies, practiced professional and civic engagement skills, and explored pathways to social change.
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Resident Assistants Lend a Hand in Little Haiti
Barry University resident assistants (RAs) partnered recently with the Little Haiti Optimist Club to beautify the club’s Soar Park site.
Together with five Residence Life staff members and a CCSI staff member, the 28 RAs worked for three hours, organizing storage areas, painting the building, facilitating recreational activities with community youth, and doing maintenance work in the community garden.
A non-profit organization affiliated with Optimist International, the Little Haiti Optimist Club prepares the community’s youth for “academic and life excellence through education, mentorship, athletics, arts and cultural programming.” The organization manages a Community Tech and Youth Center at Soar Park, located at 100 NW 83rd Street in Miami.
The club receives donations collected during Barry’s annual Move-Out Drive, an end-of-academic-year project in which the RAs play a major role.
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Barry Faculty and Staff Urged to Volunteer for Reading Program
The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) is urging Barry faculty and staff members to volunteer for the reading program organized by United Way of Miami-Dade.
According to the organizers of the ReadingPals program, volunteers read to children in pre-kindergarten classrooms across Miami-Dade county. Volunteers help to enhance literacy, instill a love of reading, and build a stronger community.
“Research shows that children who learn to read well at an early age will not only read more independently, but also achieve more in math, social studies and science, and are more likely to graduate high school and pursue higher education,” United Way of Miami-Dade said in a statement. “Early literacy is a key strategy to success.”
The next ReadingPals session will begin the week of September 15 and will run weekly through May 6, 2016. Volunteers are required to devote at least 30 minutes a week to the program, for 25 weeks (sessions).
Prospective volunteers should submit the registration form as soon as possible.
For more information on the ReadingPals program, email readingpals@unitedwaymiami.org
Faculty and staff members who volunteer for ReadingPals are asked to let the CCSI know.
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CCSI Newsletter
Posted On : August 31, 2015
