Pictured above, some social work students recently traveled to Chicago for an academic trip. The Social Work Club is opened to anyone interested in pursuing a degree in social work or have already declared as a social work major.
Dictionary.com defines social work as “organized work directed toward the betterment of social conditions in the community, as by seeking to improve the condition of the poor, to promote the welfare of children, etc.” If you ask anyone in the Social Work Club, they will most likely say that this is a correct definition, but they will say that it is also more than that.
“The Social Work Club aims to promote awareness about things that aren’t regularly in the news or on the public’s mind,” said junior and president of the club Ashley Forker. “We try to get the false pretenses out of people heads as to what social work is. We try to educate people that there are a lot of different types of social work. We aren’t all just Child Protective Services (CPS) workers.”
Not all social work is based around removing children from unfit homes. There are several types of social work and the Social Work club aims to promote awareness about all of them. Some social workers work with veterans, as well as the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, and Transsexual community. Some work in schools, while others work as political-social workers and license foster parents. There are also social workers that work to promote and advocate for the rights of those who cannot speak for themselves, especially those with mental handicaps.
Every year the Social Work Club hosts a variety of events to benefit local philanthropies and to raise awareness about social work. One such event was held last semester; the club hosted a movie night where they held a showing of “Adam”, a movie about a man with Aspergers. The club invited an employee from the HOPE Center, which is located here in Adrian, to speak about what the HOPE Center does and how social work helps with Disability Awareness.
Last semester the club also helped to raise awareness about hate crimes and to spread the word on how to end them. The club hosts a number of guest speakers throughout the year as well as movie screenings that help to raise awareness about different issues.
“The club does a lot to educate members on a lot of different topics, particularly through documentaries,” said senior Chris Quinlan. “I enjoy learning about things that I normally would not learn about in a different setting.”
The club is an asset to those who are either undecided about what they want to do and/or those who are on the fence as to whether or not they want to go into social work. The club provides a community of people who are in varying levels of the social work program. It helps to inform people about topics and different areas of social work that they may not have thought about prior to joining the club.
“I was brought into the club because I was on the fence as to if I wanted to be a social work major or not,” said senior Katherine VanArsdall. “The club is very useful to someone who is on the fence about it. I was brought in and I found out through the help of the club, that this is what I wanted to do.”
Although they haven’t been as active as they would have liked this semester, the club is already working on events for the fall 2012 semester. On April 12, the club is hosting a silent auction to benefit a local senior center.
For more information on the silent auction or the club in general, feel free to contact the club president Ashley Forker at aforker@adrian.edu. You can also contact the club advisor Susan Nichols at snichols@adrian.edu. The club meets every Monday at 7 p.m. in Valade 110. If you are interested in social work, are considering becoming a social worker or are already in the program, it is encouraged that you at least check out the club.
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