CCSI Newsletter

In This Issue:

• Barry Representatives Participate in Action-Focused Community Event
• College Reach-Out Program Gets Students Involved in Special Olympics
• Social Work Students Log 760 Hours of Community-Based Service
• County Government Thanks Barry Volunteers for Valuable Contributions
• Community Partner Seeks Support for Summer Sort-A-Thon
• Semimonthly Issues of Newsletter Scheduled for Summer

Barry Representatives Participate in Action-Focused Community Event

Barry University students, faculty, and staff members participated in the recent Nehemiah Action Assembly organized by PACT (People Acting for Community Together). The aim of the event was to gain support for initiatives pertaining mainly to affordable housing and juvenile justice.

Nearly 1,000 persons representing 37 local congregations and three universities participated in the event at NewBirth BaptistChurch in Opa-Locka. The event marked the culmination of a year of grassroots efforts to address public concerns by working directly with local officials.

The Barry participants included social work graduate students, undergraduates enrolled in service-learning courses, and leaders of the Barry Service Corps (BSC).

Participating officials included Miami Gardens Interim Police Chief Antonio Brooklen; Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle; Ryan Hawkins, representing Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara Jordan; Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava; City of Miami Chief of Police Rodolfo Llanes; Miami-Dade Public Defender Carlos Martinez; Arnold Montgomery, administrative director of the Office of Educational Equity, Access, and Diversity for Miami-Dade Public Schools; Miami-Dade Commissioner Dennis Moss; and Miami-Dade Police Director J. D. Patterson.

At the event, law enforcement officials committed to continue supporting the expansion of civil citation programs for youth and to build alliances on a local and statewide level for the next Florida legislative session. And representatives of Miami-Dade Public Schools agreed to work with PACT to develop a plan to ensure that district schools are held accountable for enforcing the 2012 decision to decrease out-of-school suspensions.

PACT recognized the Miami Gardens Police Department for its cooperation in establishing neighborhood resource offices in BunchePark, BuccaneerPark, Norwood Park, and elsewhere. The resource offices help to improve trust between police officers and the local community.

According to its website, PACT is the largest grassroots organization in South Florida, representing more than 50,000 people. Since 1988, PACT has successfully worked with local officials on initiatives related to neighborhood safety, public transportation, employment, affordable housing, education, and crime prevention.

Four BSC leaders have worked closely with PACT this academic year. Seretse Davis, Kevin Dalia, Devin Garner, and Donté Roberts have helped with research on local policy and policymakers, preparation of audio visuals, and program implementation.

College Reach-Out Program Gets Students Involved in Special Olympics

Middle- and high-school students enrolled in the College Reach-Out Program (CROP) volunteered alongside their BarryUniversity mentors at the Miami-Dade Special Olympics Area Tennis Games last month. The volunteers assisted with face painting, lunch setup and distribution, the awards presentation, and post-event cleanup.

CROP Director Gabriela Mañón made arrangements for the students’ participation in cooperation with the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) and Special Olympics staff.

“This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to engage in leadership, mentoring, character development, and a cultural experience,” Mañón said. “Our students really walked away with an enriched spirit for giving and greater understanding of their peers living with disabilities.”

CROP connects Barry graduate students in the Counseling Department of the Adrian DominicanSchool of Education to students in area schools. The program’s main focus is on motivating and preparing students in grades 6 through 12 to pursue and successfully complete a college education.

The middle- and high-school students attend workshops, tutoring sessions, fieldtrips, and summer camps and receive counseling. The Barry students serve as mentors and discussion facilitators during school-based group meetings and in enrichment activities.

The Florida Department of Education established CROP in 1983 to increase the number of low-income, educationally disadvantaged students who complete a postsecondary education. Barry University has participated in the program since 1999.

Social Work Students Log 760 Hours of Community-Based Service

Barry social work students logged more than 760 hours of community-based service as part of a spring semester course. The 17 students were enrolled in SW 323: Service-Learning and Social Work Practice.

They worked in groups, each assigned to one of three community agencies: Feeding South Florida, Gratigny Elementary School, and Special Olympics Florida: Miami-Dade County.

The students shared their experiences and reflected on the impact of their projects during the 2nd Annual Service-Learning Symposium of the School of Social Work on April 30.

Some students said they learned the importance of dedication and motivation; others learned patience and kindness. The students assigned to Feeding South Florida saw how they could help to relieve hunger. At Gratigny, the Barry students appreciated the resiliency of children with special needs. At Special Olympics, students had an “eye-opening experience” in supporting events for persons with intellectual disabilities.

Speaking at the symposium, Dr. Phyllis Scott, dean of the School of Social Work, noted that SW 323 was Barry’s only course dedicated to service-learning. She pointed out that the students had engaged fully in the course not because it was a requirement but because of their commitment to social work practice, passion for service, and spirit of caring.

Dr. Scott thanked the Center for Community Service Initiatives for its guidance and support of service-learning.

Other speakers at the symposium were Bachelor of Social Work Program Director Jennifer Williams and Associate Professor Dr. Mitch Rosenwald, the course instructor.

Feeding South Florida is one of 202 food banks comprising the Feeding America network. The leading domestic hunger relief organization in the region, Feeding South Florida serves four counties through a network of nonprofit partner agencies.

The students assigned to that agency were Nikkettia Braziel, Miravida Lorzano, Heriberto Payan, Niesha Smith, and Loretta Thompkins-Williamson. They assisted mainly with inspecting and sorting food items for distribution.

Volunteer Coordinator Sibyl Brown represented Feeding South Florida at the symposium.

According to its mission statement, GratignyElementary School is “dedicated to the development of every student’s academic, social, physical, and emotional potential in a wholesome and supportive environment, so as to create lifelong learners and productive citizens in a multicultural and changing world.”

Students Valerie Dukes, Shaniqua Gray, Hailee Jeffreys, Victoria Montanaro, Jazmin Rosario, Chelsey Smith, and Liza Trainello served at Gratigny. They spent most of their time with special-needs children at the school.

Donna Potolsky, the school’s media specialist, attended the symposium.

Special Olympics Florida: Miami-Dade County is part of a global organization that serves more than 4 million athletes with intellectual disabilities. With support from volunteers, the organization provides training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for both children and adults.

The students who completed their service-learning project with Special Olympics Florida were Marni Barish, Shawnese Frei, Jaki Neering, Michelle Romero, and Quayneshia Smith. They assisted with event preparation and volunteer recruitment.

Volunteer Manager Amanda Spies, who supervised the students, represented Special Olympics Florida: Miami-DadeCounty at the symposium.

County Government Thanks Barry Volunteers for Valuable Contributions

The Miami-Dade county government has thanked Barry University volunteers for “valuable contributions to our community.”

In April, National Volunteer Month, the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) received a certificate of appreciation signed by Jean Monestime, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, and Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

The Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade also expressed appreciation to the university. In an accompanying letter to CCSI Associate Director Courtney Berrien, Parks Foundation Executive Director Susan Ervin thanked the university “for your dedication to our volunteer program and for your commitment to our community.”

According to Ervin, “The participation of BarryUniversity makes all the difference in the success of our volunteer events, whether through in-kind services, donation of time, or volunteer recruitment. It is through loyal partnerships with organizations like Barry that we are able to reach a broader audience of South Florida residents to take an active role in our Parks.”

Community Partner Seeks Support for Summer Sort-A-Thon

On Saturday, June 6, Feeding South Florida will host its first-ever Summer Sort-A-Thon aimed at helping to end hunger during the summer months.

“We are in need of many volunteers,” said Sibyl Brown, the agency’s volunteer coordinator. She is urging interested persons to sign up for one of four shifts. The first three-hour shift will begin at 8 a.m., with others scheduled for 11:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 6 p.m.

Volunteers will inspect and sort food items and make meal boxes for families struggling to put food on the table, Brown said.

Brown noted that there are almost 300,000 children in South Florida who need access to food during the summer when school is out of session.

“We have the food, and kids have the need,” Brown said. “Help us get the food out of our warehouse and into the community to help feed kids and families in need this summer.”

A Barry community partner, Feeding South Florida serves four counties – Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe – through a network of nonprofit partners and programs, including soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, group homes, and other emergency food-service programs.

Semimonthly Issues of Newsletter Scheduled for Summer

Engagement News, the newsletter of the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI), will be published semimonthly during the summer terms. The next issue is scheduled to appear on June 15. Other summer issues are slated for June 29, July 13, and July 27.

Regular weekly issues of Engagement News will resume on August 17.