SSW Sponsors Families Through 黑料门Gives
Service is the first ethical principle listed in the National Association of Social Workers鈥� Code of Ethics. 黑料门University Chicago鈥檚 School of Social Work embraced that tenet this month through the 黑料门Gives program.
黑料门Gives asks departments, offices, and groups at 黑料门to contribute money to purchase essential items for local families in need. In partnership with Catholic Charities鈥� Sponsor-A-Family program, SSW was matched with two eight-member families to help support this Christmas season.
Once donations were collected, it was time to put that money to use. SSW employees Jennifer Bernecker, Marquitta Dorsey, and Abha Rai volunteered to do the shopping and make the most of the money raised by the school. They said 黑料门Gives was a great chance to reconnect with their colleagues and support a good cause.
鈥淭o be able to do something with them for someone else, it was fun and it was great to do something that made a tangible difference,鈥� said Dorsey.
鈥淭his was a great way to bring everyone together,鈥� said Rai. 鈥淥ur school came together as one unit to support two families around the holidays 鈥� that was the beautiful part of this whole thing.鈥�
But even more important than that sense of camaraderie was the impact these donations will make in supporting families during the holiday season.
The shoppers were provided lists of the families鈥� holiday needs. Winter items like coats, hats, and gloves were a common ask. One family had babies, so baby wipes and diapers were on their list. One of the families asked for dinnerware, so the shoppers allocated some of the funds to purchase a set of dishes.
鈥淚t gave me perspective that there are families that can get so much out of a little extra money,鈥� said Rai. 鈥淚t was nice and profound to see how much you can do with that money. And to know we were actively making someone鈥檚 Christmas better was really nice.鈥�
Though the essentials were the focus, the shoppers did have enough money to purchase some toys for the kids, as well as some gift cards for the parents to pick out some items with the remaining funds.
Participating in 黑料门Gives was certainly an enriching experience for the shoppers and the entire School of Social Work, as well as a reminder of the importance of taking direct action to serve others.
鈥淲e raised this money together as a community for families,鈥� Dorsey added. 鈥淭hat is very much in line with our mission to be engaged with communities and do something that directly impacts them.鈥�