Celebrating National Social Work Month

When was National Social Work Month made official?

National social work month was made official in 1984 by the White House.

Ways to celebrate social workers:

If you know anyone who is a social worker, be sure to wish them a happy National Social Work Month. Social workers work hard every day to ensure the people they work with get everything they need to succeed. Make sure to say thank you or send an appreciation gift to a social worker who has helped you in some way or someone that you know that helps others. Volunteering is another way to celebrate this month and donate to agencies to help meet their financial goals to reach as many people in need as they can.

Significant contributors to social work:

Jane Addams was a social reformer and activist who was a co-founder of the first settlement house, Hull House, the first of its kind in the United States. The house’s location was on Chicago’s west side and provided many services to people in the community. Jane Addams was involved in other things, such as creating a school of social work at the University of Chicago, being active in the women’s suffrage movement, lobbying for the juvenile court system, etc. She was the first woman to win the noble peace prize.

Clara Barton is one of the most honored women in American history, known as the American Red Cross's founder. Barton risked her life to bring supplies and support to soldiers in the field during the Civil War. Upon her return home, Barton was determined that the United States should participate in the global Red Cross network. Working with influential friends and contacts such as Frederick Douglass, she founded the American Red Cross in 1881.

Whitney Young Jr. was the Executive Director of the National Urban League and the dean of the School of Social Work of Atlanta University. After army service in World War II, Young switched his career interest from medicine to social work, in which he received a Master of Arts. from the University of Minnesota. Young was appointed executive director of the National Urban League and won an impressive reputation as a national Black activist who helped bridge the gap between white political and business leaders and poor Black people and militants.