ITSW Social Justice Small Grants Program: Spring 2017 Awardee Announcement
The Initiative for Transformative Social Work (ITSW) is pleased to announce the Spring 2017 Social Justice Small Grants Program recipients. The Social Justice Small Grants Program is intended to fund social justice projects by students, staff and faculty affiliated with the College of Social Work at the University of Utah.
ITSW seeks to develop and nurture an inclusive and empowering community that pursues equity in the College of Social Work by promoting greater understanding, dismantling privilege, and diminishing power discrepancies. ITSW’s vision is to create equity in the College through student-informed and -driven initiatives that center social justice ideals and anti-oppression activities. ITSW values: community partnership and awareness-raising initiatives, peer support and collaborations with CSW educational units, and student and faculty development.
The Spring 2017 Grant recipients are:
Haley Burton, on behalf of Actively Moving Forward (AMF) Lindsey Johnson, Secular Student Alliance (SSA)
The recipients centralize different aspects of social justice issues and modalities of social change that are being implemented by social work students: presenting on grief and loss; community initiatives that centralize diverse stories; and supporting minority perspectives in the University (secular students).
About the recipients:
Haley Burton, MSW student, on behalf of Actively Moving Forward: The Actively Moving Forward (AMF) Chapter at the University works toward providing peer support to other students at the University of Utah that may be experiencing grief or bereavement along with trying to maintain and uphold their responsibilities as students. Last year, AMF successfully passed a bereavement policy that enables students to advocate on their own behalf for excused absences, along with extended deadlines for assignments. Nine MSW Program students at the University of Utah, who are also members of AMF, will be representing AMF with poster presentations at the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) Conference, which will be taking a more in-depth look at stigma students carry surrounding death on college campuses, along with other university policies on attendance and absence in regards to bereavement.ITSW Social Justice Small Grants Award: $300.
Lindsey Johnson, Secular Student Alliance: Lindsey is working with a team to empower students on campus to form a sustainable Secular Student Alliance, or SSA. The mission of the Secular Student Alliance is to: “proudly express their identity, build welcoming communities, promote secular values, and set a course for lifelong activism. We envision a future in which secular students lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, thrive as valued members of society, and provide visionary leadership committed to humanistic ideals and critical inquiry.” Their goal is to empower students to feel proud of their identities, come together to speak freely of their experiences, and to build welcoming communities of students of diverse ideologies. They are hosting a panel event, “Small Grants – Secular Religious Relationships – April 2017,” to take place at the College of Social Work on April 11, 2017, at 6:00 PM in the Okazaki Community Meeting Room. ITSW Social Justice Small Grants Award: $300.
Students, faculty, and staff are invited to submit project proposals:
Award Period: Spring Applicant submission time periods: January 15 – February 15 Award Period: Summer Applicant submission time periods: April 15 – May 15 Award Period: Fall Applicant submission time periods: August 15 – September 15
To submit an application or send your queries, please email the Director for the Initiative for Transformative Social Work, Dr. Fukushima at: itsw@utah.edu.