Support the foundation of Social Work during the 1866-Minute Giving Challenge.
When a family loses their home to a fire, someone helps them find a safe place to sleep that night. When a teenager is in crisis, someone sits with them and makes a plan to keep them safe. When an older neighbor can no longer cook for herself, someone makes sure meals arrive at her door. That someone is often a social worker.
Many of the people doing this work in Berks County and beyond right now are Kutztown University social work students. As part of their training, our students work in local schools, hospitals, shelters, and community agencies, serving real people under professional supervision. What they learn in class on Monday, they use with a client on Tuesday.
The Department of Social Work at Kutztown University recognizes the commitment of our students, agency partners, and community members to strengthening the care available in our communities.
Our students are working parents, caregivers, and employees. They balance jobs and families while paying rising costs for gas and food. Many drive to their placements on their own dime. Too often, a required textbook becomes a cost that forces a choice: buy the book or buy the groceries.
This fall, we're raising funds so no student has to make that choice.
Founded in 2021, the Textbook Lending Library provides social work students with the textbooks and licensure preparation materials they need, free of charge. Last year, the library supported 108 students with 324 books.
Every book we lend goes back out into the community through the students who use it. When you support a student, you support the children, families, veterans, and older adults they serve.
We need your help to reach our goal.
How far does your donation go?
$5 equips a student for about 8 hours of supervised service to community members.
$25 provides half a textbook, helping a student prepare for the families they'll work with this semester.
$50 covers half of the licensure prep materials for one student, helping a future social worker earn the license that lets them practice on their own.
How else can you donate?
$5, the cost of a cup of coffee (because we all need that!), puts a book in a student's hands and help in a neighbor's life.
Any amount you are able to give makes a direct difference.
Alumni Challenge: Donate your year
Calling all KU alumni! The graduating class with the most donations will earn a special shout-out and a social media spotlight.
Here's what you have to do:
Connect or reconnect with your alma mater. Donate the year you graduated. If you graduated in 2013, give $20.13. Want to sweeten the pot? Round up to the nearest dollar.
All funds raised during this campaign support social work students at Kutztown University and the community members they serve.
Thank you for investing in the next generation of social workers and the people who count on them.
