Social work rally celebrates organization birthdays

In the heart of the Shenendoah Valley this past Thursday and Friday, Oct. 6-7, EMU social work students and faculty went to a gathering at Massanuttan Springs for not one but two birthday celebrations.

It was not a cult, spiritual, or even family gathering. It was a gathering of social workers from every nook and cranny of Virginia celebrating the 50th birthday of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the 25th birthday of Rally in the Valley. Rally in the Valley is the actual event that draws social workers from near and far to experience the profession of social work on a larger scale.

Contrary to the name's implications, Rally in the Valley does not consist of people standing outside with signs, cheering amidst big name speakers and multiple stages. It is an informative event on different aspects of the profession.

The two days had a schedule filled with board panels from Master of Social Work programs, keynote speakers, workshops, and other activities. These events can help students understand what is going on within Virginia in terms of the profession, experience camaraderie with other social work majors, learn new techniques, and see the diversity of social work practice around Virginia.

The theme this year was "Social Work Starts Here," which is based around a new public campaign which the National Association of Social Workers is promoting. They asked the question of what role each student will play in the social work profession through a video as the main event on Thursday evening. Before that, the event kicked off with a graduate school panel in which North Carolina University, Bryn Mawr University, and schools from Virginia were represented. They described the different concentrations of MSW programs they offered and the benefits their schools had to offer. Later on Thursday night the event offered penny rolling for Hurricane Katrina relief and quilt making as a donation to NASW for their hard work in Virginia.

Rally in the Valley started there, but it didn't stop as Friday offered other events. To start the day there was a speaker on lobbying for social work title protection legislation. He argued that there are many people who are in social work jobs that don't have a social work degree and therefore should not be called social workers. He explained how social workers could lobby for this type of legislation with local and state officials. Afterward, each student could choose two workshops to attend out of the eight offered. Examples included workshops on grassroots organizing and working with adult children of alcoholics. After the workshops, things were wrapped up and social workers went back to their communities ready to make a difference.