MSW Students Participate in Community Projects

East Hillside Patch Community Assessment

Seven MSW students volunteered to work with East Hillside Patch, a local grassroots nonprofit in the organization's effort to complete a community-wide needs assessment. East Hillside Patch, along with the Wilder Foundation and other local agencies, are conducting this exciting project with 200 East Hillside households, and 100 households each in Central Hillside and Lincoln Park neighborhoods.

The MSW students assisted in going door-to-door to interview residents about the needs of their household in all areas of living. The survey covers topics ranging from access to reliable transportation, affordable health care, child care, employment, feeling safe in the neighborhood, and various other topics regarding household needs. The survey is approximately 100 questions long, and takes about 20 minutes to complete. Once the data is analyzed by the Wilder Foundation, the findings will be used to generate neighborhood focus group discussions. These discussions will help prioritize and plan future development activities undertaken by Patch and several other community agencies and organizations. The students gained valuable information from residents of Duluth, and their efforts were much appreciated.

Click Here to Watch the WDIO News Story on the Patch Assessment

Go to Patch's Website

Clothing/Hygiene Drive

Six MSW students developed and implemented a clothing and hygiene item drive after seeing a great need in the community. The students set up drop box locations at several areas of UMD, and distributed the items to the appropriate local agencies. The event was more successful than anticipated, and generated 37 large garbage bags filled with clothing weighing approximately 700 pounds, and several more bags and boxes filled with miscellaneous items, such as towels, purses, home items, shoes, and hygiene items. 

The clothing was distributed between the Damiano Center, Street Outreach, Life House, Kid's Closet, and Bethany Crisis Nursery, depending on agency need. The hygiene items were donated to Churches United in Ministry (CHUM), and the home items to the San Marco Apartments. The clothing drive addressed the problems of being in poverty with a low-income, being homeless, and having clothing and hygiene needs.

Click Here to Download a Power Point Presentation About the Clothing Drive

Sleep-out/Night Without A Home

October 13, 2007

This event was to raise awareness of homelessness in our community. The event was also to collect goods and cash for the upcoming Homeless Connect event on October 24th. A number of MSW students slept out all night and collected new and gently used blankets, sleeping bags, and money to donate.