Community Engagement News

Collaborative Service Projects Address Homelessness as Major Issue in South Florida

Students sorted donated clothes, painted buildings, and helped to prepare lunch on Founders’ Day of Service, an annual event that marks the start of Founders’ Week at Barry.

Report by Courtney Berrien

Nearly 100 members of the campus community came together on Founders’ Day of Service to address homelessness while honoring Barry University’s commitment to collaborative service.

Homelessness is a major issue in South Florida, and community partners have been responding in various ways.

The community service day, November 5, was the kickoff to Founders’ Week at Barry.

Most service projects supported homeless shelters, including Camillus House, Chapman Partnership, Salvation Army, and Lotus House. Participants painted buildings, contributed to landscaping projects, sorted clothing and food donations, and helped to prepare and serve lunch.

Another project involved the provision of municipal IDs to vulnerable community members who do not qualify for Florida state driver’s licenses or other state IDs. One reason individuals may not qualify for state IDs is that they do not have a permanent address.

The Barry group helped process applications for more than 200 people seeking photo IDs at Branches’ “Community ID event” in Florida City.

Two additional groups supported community gardening projects that provide nutritious produce to people experiencing homelessness. One group mulched, weeded, and prepared planting beds at Urban GreenWorks’ Cerasee Farm in Liberty City while another repurposed garden beds in the Barry Urban Garden (BUG).

Produce grown in the BUG is donated to Buddy System Miami’s Community Fridge project. People experiencing food insecurity, including many unhoused individuals and families, access food at refrigerators in Little Haiti, Liberty City, and other locations in Miami.

Students from six orientation (ORI 100) classes were among the participants. Instructors Lisa Dias, Maria Herrera, and Joyce Valera joined their students in the service projects.

It was the university’s fourth annual Founders’ Day of Service and the third major day of service for this academic year. The first was International Coastal Cleanup Day, September 17, and the second was Food Security Day, October 8.

Podiatry Students Collect 42 Pairs of Shoes for Unhoused Persons in Miami-Dade

Students in the School of Podiatric Medicine collected shoes on Barry’s main campus. Jessica Mugford (pictured below), a second-year podiatry student and Community Service Committee member, was one of the project leaders.

Report and photos by Christopher Joly

Students from the School of Podiatric Medicine led a campus-wide shoe collection drive for unhoused persons in the run-up to Founders’ Week. In total, 42 pairs of shoes were donated.

New and lightly worn shoes of various types were collected at four locations across the university campus. The donations were delivered to Camillus House and Chapman Partnership, two Miami-Dade community partners dedicated to homeless relief.

In the School of Podiatric Medicine, the Florida Podiatric Medical Student Association (FPMSA) and the Class of 2025’s Community Service Committee spearheaded the effort. They spread the word and gathered the shoe donations from faculty and students. 

The benefits of wearing shoes to one’s health cannot be underestimated. Wearing shoes can improve one’s quality of life, the FPMSA Executive Board explained.

“For those who are living without shoes, it is important to seek podiatric medical services,” the FPMSA Executive Board said. “Wearing proper shoes helps by (1) preventing injury or disease, (2) helping the healing process for those with chronic foot conditions, (3) minimizing diabetic foot infections, and (4) offering support for inadequate arches or excess pronation.”

In a statement, the FPMSA Executive Board added: “Most importantly, helping those living without shoes provides support to not only their feet, but [also] to their whole well-being for comfort, safety and proper healing.”

Editor’s Note: Chris Joly is an associate in the Barry Service Corps. A second-year podiatry student and member of the Community Service Committee, he helped to sort and deliver the donations.

Deliberative Dialogue Forum Focuses on ‘COVID Slide’ and ‘Learning Losses’

Pictured participating in the forum are Caroline Gillingham-Varela, IB program coordinator at Carrollton School; Dr. Diana Loubeau, principal of Benjamin Franklin K–8 Center; and Ragasten Paul, COO of Miami Children’s Initiative.

Story and photos by Glenn Bowen

The academic year’s Deliberative Dialogue Series continued last month with a forum focused on the “COVID slide” and “learning losses” caused by the pandemic.

The forum explored the topic from diverse perspectives, considering issues of equity and access, particularly in K–12 education.

Participants pointed to inequities exposed and exacerbated by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Such inequities, they said, significantly affected “vulnerable” population groups, who experienced a lack of access to technology. Parents who were “challenged by technology,” as one participant noted, were unable to provide some of the support their children needed. In addition, as another pointed out, the pandemic had a detrimental effect on the socialization of young students.

To prevent further learning losses, “we need parent involvement with teachers,” said Dr. Diana Loubeau, principal of Benjamin Franklin K–8 Center. She and others also suggested that people draw on the resources of churches and counseling centers.

The need to “put fun into learning” was mentioned. And Dr. Javier Gonzalez, an associate professor of education, emphasized the “need to build resiliency in our kids.”

Marie Jasmin, a Palm Beach County school psychologist, said the impact of COVID-19 was still being felt within the school system. She said, too, that many parents—whose children may have been given laptops to facilitate their learning during the pandemic—could not afford electricity, to say nothing of internet service.

Earlier, the director of Barry’s Student Health Services, Eileen Egan-Hineline, reflected on the devastating effects of the pandemic. Noting that over one million people in the United States did not survive the pandemic, Ms. Egan-Hineline decried “people’s lack of trust” in the vaccine and their hostility toward Dr. Anthony Fauci, the viral disease expert. She then referred to the current “triple threat” of COVID, the flu, and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).

“Let’s let go of the anger,” pleaded Ms. Egan-Hineline, who served as a co-chair of the Barry University Health Taskforce throughout the pandemic. “We have to get ahead of this.”

Both Dr. Loubeau and Ms. Egan-Hineline expressed concern about the impact of the pandemic on students’ mental health. According to Ms. Egan-Hineline, “mental health has to be rebuilt.”

Eileen Egan-Hineline, director of Barry’s Student Health Services, urges people to “let go of the anger” and to pay attention to students’ mental health. The 2022–2023 Deliberative Dialogue Series is aimed at “fostering resiliency in times of uncertainty.”

The forum brought together students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community partners, who explored the topic from diverse perspectives. Pictured (L–R, from top) are Dr. Lilia DiBello, an associate dean of the School of Education, Leadership, and Human Development; Michael Portnoy, a department chair at Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Senior High School; Marie Jasmin, a Palm Beach Schools psychologist; Dr. Judy Harris-Looby, an associate professor of education, with Eileen Egan-Hineline of Student Health Services; Dr. Ruth Ban, a professor of education; and three Barry Service Corps Fellows.

Other lead participants in the deliberative dialogue were Caroline Gillingham-Varela, IB program coordinator at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart; and Michael Portnoy, chair of the English Department at Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Senior High School. Ragasten Paul, chief operations officer at Miami Children’s Initiative, also participated.

Dr. Judy Harris-Looby, an associate professor of education, was the discussion facilitator.

Deliberative Dialogue is a series of facilitated forums that elicit “voices and views from campus and community.” Students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community partners take part in each of the 90-minute forums.

The theme of the 2022–2023 series is “Fostering Resiliency in Times of Uncertainty.”

For further information on the Deliberative Dialogue Series, contact CCSI Associate Director Courtney Berrien at cberrien@barry.edu.

CCSI Calls for Nominations for 10th Annual Community Engagement Awards

The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) has issued a call for nominations for Barry’s 2023 Community Engagement Awards. Students, faculty, and staff members, as well as community partners, are invited to submit nominations by the last Friday of January.

The primary purpose of the awards is to publicly recognize students, faculty, staff/administrators, departments, and community partners for their participation, contributions, and achievements in various areas of community engagement. Furthermore, each award is designed to encourage excellence in university–community collaboration and to inspire similar achievements by others.

Nominations will be accepted in seven categories: Community Impact, Community Partnership, Community-Based Research, Community-Engaged Scholarship, Community Engagement Educator, Service-Learning Faculty, and Engaged Department.

• The Community Impact Award is presented to individual students and student organizations for exemplary civic engagement—including service, research, and advocacy—that has a measurable impact on the community.
• The Community Partnership Award recognizes exemplary partnerships between university and community constituencies that produce measurable improvements in people’s lives while enhancing higher education.
• The Community-Based Research Award is presented to scholars (faculty members and/or students) who conduct rigorous research with community partners in response to community concerns, issues, or needs.
• The Community-Engaged Scholarship Award is given to faculty members in recognition of significant scholarly work across the faculty roles of teaching, research, and service that addresses community issues.
• The Community Engagement Educator Award honors administrators and faculty members for significant contributions to the institutionalization or enhancement of community engagement at Barry University.
• The Service-Learning Faculty Award goes to faculty members for exemplary integration of community-based or community-focused collaborative service into the curriculum.
• The Engaged Department Award is presented to departments for achievements in advancing the community engagement goals of the university, educating students for civic and social responsibility, and improving community life.

The 10th Annual Community Engagement Awards Ceremony is scheduled for the last Wednesday of March. Additional information and the nomination forms are available at the CCSI website.

Barry Student Leader Attends Newman Civic Fellows Conference in Boston

Student leader Amanda Gonzalez Garcia attended the 2022 Convening of Newman Civic Fellows in Boston, Massachusetts, late last month.

As Barry’s Newman Civic Fellow for 2022–2023, she joined other “community-committed students from around the country” for the event hosted by Campus Compact on October 28 and 29.

The Fellows learned from civic engagement experts about organizing and making positive change. They experienced “hands-on democratic learning” at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

At the Kennedy Institute, Ms. Gonzalez Garcia was inspired by an exhibit titled “Standing Up for Democracy.” She noted that the struggle for voting rights continues today, decades after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.

“Today, there are still some practices that discriminate against Black and minority voters in getting to the polls,” Ms. Gonzalez Garcia said. “I was inspired to continue my work with organizations such as the ACLU of Florida, Campus Democracy Project, and Campus Vote Project to provide resources and support to secure people’s right to vote.”

Campus Compact is a Boston-based non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education.

Contact Emmanuel Ikpuri, Federal Work-Study Community Service Program facilitator, in the CCSI at service@barry.edu.

COMMUNITY IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM: A group of students and CCSI staff assisted a community partner with a Community ID event in Florida City earlier this month.

FOUNDERS’ DAY OF SERVICE: As a follow-up to the lead story in today’s issue, a pictorial report will focus on Founders’ Day of Service projects.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AWARDS: “Community Impact” is one of seven categories of awards in which nominations are being accepted.