Federation of Social Workers IUE/CWA 81381

FSW Member of the Month for September is LaTonya Wilcox! LaTonya Wilcox has been with MCDHS for 15 years. She started in the Emergency Housing Unit and now works in the Child Support Enforcement Unit. LaTonya has served as the FSW’s Mobilization Chairperson and CCRE Chairperson. She currently is a Grievance Co-Chair and also our IUE-CWA Diversity Ambassador. In addition to the duties of those important union roles, recently LaTonya did a fantastic job of organizing the Conc...ert in the Parking Lot event! She worked at the union hall many evenings alone to make sure that the event was a success, which it was! The tremendous amount of hours and effort she put into the event was phenomenal, and our members who attended appreciated it. Congratulations on being our Member of the Month, LaTonya! It’s a well-deserved honor for someone who does so much for others! See more

The 16th Annual Human Service Awards event that was scheduled for October 30, 2020 has been cancelled, due to ongoing safety concerns during the coronavirus pandemic. The Federation of Social Workers is, however, firmly committed to still holding this important Awards event. A new date of March 12th has been established, with details regarding the format and venue to be finalized at a later date. During the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, human service workers in ou...r community have made unimaginable contributions to helping others in need. We are anxious to have the community identify those individuals and organizations that have made extraordinary efforts, both as professionals and as volunteers. The nomination period has therefore been extended until Friday, December 11th. Please consider nominating someone so that we can recognize their inspirational efforts. Click here to view the various award categories and to complete an online submission. Our Lifetime Achievement Award honoree for 2020 is Sister Grace Miller of the House of Mercy. The response from the community to her selection has been overwhelming! Details about the event will be shared as they are confirmed. Please don't hesitate to make a nomination!

Nominations are still being accepted for the Human Service Worker of the Year Awards. The deadline is next Monday, September 28th! To nominate! https://www.fsw-union.org/hswoy

Congratulations to our August Member of the Month Lawanda Shipman! Lawanda Shipman goes above and beyond to give help wherever and whenever help is needed. She will be the first to volunteer her time to help the union in any way and any committee chair that needs it. She has volunteered several hours for phone banking to help the political action chair, and has also gone door to door campaigning to support FSW-endorsed candidates. Lawanda volunteers her time to take trainings... to get better knowledge of our union and how we can help and make a difference. She helps her co-workers anytime they need help, and always volunteers to take an extra phone day or see an extra walk-in client. Lawanda Shipman is the definition of a team player and is very deserving of this award! Congratulations, Lawanda! FSW Member of the Month Lawanda Shipman (on the right), receives her award certificate from FSW President Ebony Burgess. Visit: https://www.fsw-union.org/member-of-the-month

13 WHAM ABC bright spot on Sister Miller Grace being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award!

The Executive Board of the Federation of Social Workers is proud to announce that they have selected Sister Grace Miller from the House of Mercy (Rochester, New York), to receive their 2020 W. Burton Richardson Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented at the 16th Annual Human Service Worker of the Year Awards luncheon. In a city ranked among the poorest in the nation, The House of Mercy is a vital refuge for people who have nowhere else to turn. It would not e...xist without the tireless efforts of Sister Grace Miller, the woman some people call Rochester’s Mother Teresa. The House of Mercy provides food, clothing, shelter, healthcare services and many other forms of assistance to thousands of extremely poor people in Rochester every year. Ever since the Civil Rights movement of the 60's, Sister Grace Miller has been a strong voice in our community for the poor, the homeless, people with mental illness who have been abandoned on the streets, people of color, people who face discrimination in housing and employment, and others who have few effective advocates in a world where empathy and compassion are increasingly becoming endangered values. She has been stopping to help people for more than 50 years. She has worked 12,000 long days to help the poor. The last paycheck she took from the mission she founded - was in 1992. She has made the Rochester community a better and more compassionate place. Read more about Sister Grace Miller: https://www.fsw-union.org/2020-hswoy

We are still accepting nominations for the Human Service Worker of the Year awards for 2020! ----> https://www.fsw-union.org/hswoy The award presentation format and venue will be confirmed soon.

On August 15, 2020, members of the Federation of Social Workers joined their CBTU sisters and brothers to rally against racism and in support of #BlackLivesMatter!

Congratulations to our July Member of the Month, Rahsaan Pryor! Rahsaan is a Senior Youth Detention Worker, who consistently goes above and beyond in his job at the Children's Detention Center. Rahsaan specifically follows up on youth who have graduated high school while incarcerated. He makes sure they are applying for jobs or pursuing higher education. Rahsaan helps them complete applications and guides them through the process. He supports and guides them, when so many oth...ers have given up on them. Rashaan recently graduated from Monroe Community College himself, and we would also like to give him a huge congratulations for that. Thank you, Rahsaan Pryor, for your service to our community and for helping to improve the quality of life for others! FSW Member of the Month Rahsaan Pryor (on right) receives his award from FSW President Ebony Burgess If you would like to nominate a FSW Member who has done exceptional professional, volunteer, or other community service, please visit: https://bit.ly/34egPAd

The Federation of Social Workers will be accepting nominations for the Human Service Worker of the Year Awards until September 28th. There are a variety of awards included that honor all forms of human service and professions in the community: John L. Seebach Volunteer of the Year Award, Community Non-Profit Organization of the Year Award, Human Service Courage Award, Human Service Family of the Year, Next Generation Human Service Contributor, and more. Visit: https://www.fsw-union.org/hswoy

The Federation of Social Workers is proud to announce that nominations are now being accepted in all categories for our 16th Annual Human Service Worker of the Year Awards program. Our honorees have traditionally come from a wide range of human service professions including social work, healthcare, education, law enforcement, legal and others. Awards are also presented to volunteers, corporate contributors, nonprofit organizations and students. While the current pandemic may ...affect specifics regarding event and presentation planning, the Federation is still committed to honoring those individuals and organizations that have made exceptional contributions of service to those in need in our community. This year, maybe more than ever before, there have been countless acts of heroism, dedication, compassion and kindness, all of which deserve to be recognized. To make a nomination, please click on this link to access our online nomination form. https://bit.ly/307xR0s Details about the award presentation format and venue will be forthcoming. Thank you for your continued support of this important community event.

The Executive Board of the Federation of Social Workers has decided to cancel the 2020 charity Golf Tournament due to concerns about COVID-19 and participant safety. We are hopeful of holding the event again in 2021.

Congratulations to our Federation Member of the Month for June, Peg Capuano! Peg works in Care Management and has been with MCDHS for more that 31 years. She will be retiring at the end of July. Peg has held a variety of positions with our union including President, Vice-President, Grievance Co-chair and Steward. Peg Capuano has made tremendous contributions of service to charities and fundraising events during her career. She led FSW in organizing our Habitat For Humanity p...roject, has volunteered at the FSW charity golf tournament every year it has been held, worked on the annual Human Services luncheon event, and has volunteered at numerous fundraising activities for both Alyssa's Angels Rochester and Christopher's Challenge. Peg Capuano is very deserving of this honor and we hope that you will join us in offering her sincere congratulations! See more

The Federation of Social Workers IUE/CWA 81381 gathered outside for a silent protest against racism and injustice for 8 minutes and 46 second to honor George Floyd, a black-male murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota by police officer, Derek Chauvin. He kneeled on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Today we also celebrate Juneteenth (short for June Nineteenth) when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth marks an effective end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. Thank you to everyone who showed their support.