RSCO Feature: Social Work Club

Samantha Weber, Editor in chief

The Social Work club is one of the most active clubs on campus. Tierney Ashe, a junior Social Work major, is the president of the club and she likes to host different events throughout the semester to appeal to a wide audience. The other members on the executive board for the Social Work club are Brenna Smith, Jazmin Ivers, Rhiannon Paterson, and Mackenzie Zent. All the e-board members are either social work majors or minors who are looking to become more involved in the social work within the community. So far this year, the club has participated in the Suicide Awareness march in the Erie community. They drove members of the club down to Presque Isle where the march was to partake in the event. When students first arrived, there were resources lining the sidewalks. People could stop to talk to them about whatever they wanted to learn more about the help that is out there. There were also stickers, tattoos and ribbons that people could take to show their support for suicide awareness and prevention. There was also a stand that had different colored beaded necklaces where each color represented something different. For example, some of the colors represented support for athletes, a family member, friend, LGBTQ+ and yourself. Everyone was encouraged to pick up as many colors as they wanted as long as that category applied to them. In addition to the walk in the Erie community, the Social Work club hosted its own suicide awareness walk on campus. This was the second annual suicide awareness walk that the club hosted. Very similarly to the Erie march, there were resources available to students who attended the march to get their contact information in case they ever need to talk to somebody. The club is also hosting a Sip and Paint night. During this event, 10 students in the Autism Initiative at Mercyhurst (AIM) program and 10 neurotypical students come together to paint and sip on refreshments. This is supposed to help bridge the gap between neurodiverse and neurotypical students that is often noticed. This event is sponsored by the grant that the senior class received last year for their final senior project. This will be the last year that the event is sponsored by the grant, but the club hopes to be able to continue this event in the future. You do not have to be a social work major or minor to be a part of the club, so if you want to join a good cause and help out in the community be sure to join the Social Work Club. If interested, be sure to follow mercyhurst_socialwork on Instagram or find the organization on Laker Launchpad to keep up to date on events and meetings that they are hosting!