Student Activities Update

Phi Alpha
by Mallory Goodman

Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society is a privileged membership for junior and senior social work majors attaining an overall GPA of 3.2 and social work GPA of 3.4. Members participate in monthly meetings and strive to get campus attention for the social work program and fundraise for local service agencies. This year our main fundraiser was a 3x3 Basketball Tournament.  We did a bake sale at the tournament and had over ten teams participate. Teams who had signed up by a certain date were given free t-shirts which will add to awareness of the social work major on campus. Proceeds from the tournament were given to New Hope Ministries youth programs.

Social Work Club
by Amanda Arbour

Although we are a small club, under the leadership of Jessica Frederick and Elizabeth Speakman, we have accomplished a lot this year!

During the World Summit we partnered with Sojourners and thousands of people around the world in the “Make Poverty History” movement. We fasted and prayed, urging President Bush to commit $5 billion for development assistance in the 2007 budget, cancel debts for the world’s poorest countries, and implement “fair trade” policies. Our club also gathered together to watch and discuss the State of the Union address.

Locally, the Social Work club has supported Center for Champions, an after-school program in Harrisburg, in a variety of ways. At the fall Clubs/Organizations Fair on Homecoming Weekend, their Dance/Step Team came and performed, and we sold baked goods to raise money for them. Throughout the fall semester we had a School Supplies Drive, and what was collected was donated to them as well.

During March we raised awareness on campus about National Social Work Month. I published an article in the Swinging Bridge, and Sarah Hazlett designed fliers for the tables in Lottie (the dining hall). After Katrina hit, the Social Work club collected a bucket of cleaning supplies to donate. We also put together three health kits for Mennonite Central Committee.

On April 28, we were involved with the workshop on Ethical Decision-Making in the Helping Professions by assisting with registration and initiating a monologue to kick off the event.