Alcorn’s Department of Social Work to celebrate Social Work Month with week of events
March is Social Work Month, and Alcorn State University will celebrate with a week filled with events to shed light on the profession’s importance.
The Department of Social work will host Social Work Week on the Lorman campus from Monday, March 21 through Friday, March 25. The national theme is “The Time is Right for Social Work.”
The March into Social Work Month Activity kicked off the events on Monday, followed by today’s Professional Social Work Day Program from 10 a.m. – noon in the J. D. Boyd Library Medgar Evers Auditorium. Krystal Hamlin, outreach coordinator for Haven House Family Shelter in Vicksburg, Mississippi, will be the event’s speaker. Game night and self-care activities will be held on Wednesday, March 23, and Kickball on the Greens will be on Thursday, March 24, from 1 – 4 p.m. The week concludes with the Social Work Pioneers Wall of Fame on Friday, March 25, on the second floor of Dumas Hall from 12:30-2 p.m.
Dr. Valtreasa Tolliver-Cook, interim chair and associate professor for the department, looks forward to highlighting the social work department and profession.
“The week-long celebration serves as an opportunity to make social work visible on Alcorn’s campus,” said Cook. “We want to acknowledge our social work students for their academic achievement and highlight our faculty and community stakeholders. We also hope to recruit students without a major to consider majoring in social work.”
Cook explained the valued role that social workers play in helping communities thrive.
“The profession seeks to provide services to individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. Social workers can be found in every facet of community life, including schools, hospitals, mental health facilities, prisons, courtrooms, and much more. They promote community development and empower community members to take an active role in overcoming barriers.”