By Troy Brooks
After starting their fundraiser earlier this month, App State students of the “Social Work Practice with Groups” course have raised enough money to send a local middle school student on a life-changing trip to Oregon this summer.
According to App State senior social work major Stephanie Allman, the school’s principal has notified the child, who is grateful for the support, of the scholarship. Allman and her fellow classmates are thrilled about the success of their fundraiser.
As part of their required course work, Allman and her fellow classmates were instructed to identify and address a small scale need in the community. They decided to help raise money for children who wanted to go on an educational trip to Oregon in June of 2016 but could not afford the costs. Since the fundraiser started earlier this month, the campaign has raised $2,586, about $30 more than what the child needed for the trip. Most of the donations have come from local businesses ($1,586.29), with the rest coming from churches, ASU students, student organizations and charitable citizens.
“I believe that the impact we’re making is significant because even though we aren’t directly affecting the community, we were able to provide such a life-changing experience for this child,” said Allman. “We were able to provide this child with not only an experience but also hope. Throughout this process, the child had no idea what was being done for them throughout the community and, to be given such unexpected news, I can only imagine that this has been a miracle of sorts. I believe that this gift is even more special given that the holidays are coming up.”
The students of the “Social Work Practice with Groups” course would like to thank those who contributed.
“My group has been working extra hard to raise this money. The support for this program has been awesome,” said Allman. “Throughout this process, we’ve learned a lot. Although our goal was to be able to send two students on this trip, we have experienced the impact we can have on just one student.
As social workers, this experience has helped us to develop skills that will be helpful in our professional careers such as learning how to interact with the community and working as a group to achieve a common goal. This experience was also an opportunity to practice advocacy and service which is a core social work value.”
On the trip to Oregon, the middle school student will travel from the volcanic mountains to the western coast of the state. During the trip the student will participate in hiking, kayaking, camping in a yurt and a hands-on experiences in learning about the discoveries of Lewis and Clark, the state’s history, nature and more.
For more information on the fundraiser, visit its facebook page.