Community Engagement News

May 14, 2018

In This Issue:

Accounting Students Help Community Members Realize Increased Savings and Income

Barry Students Support Call for Reform of Immigration, Affordable Housing, and Other Policies

Department of Physical Sciences Engages with Local Community

Applications Being Accepted for AmeriCorps VISTA Projects

Accounting Students Help Community Members Realize Increased Savings and Income

Local community members have realized increased savings and income, thanks to the tax-preparation assistance provided by accounting students and faculty in Barry University’s Andreas School of Business.

Individuals and families will receive refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) totaling over $110,000 this year. They have saved nearly $24,000 by taking advantage of the free tax-preparation service provided at the Barry’s Miami Shores site for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

“Based on our 94 e-files for the 2017 tax year, individuals and families will receive refunds totaling $110,366,” said Dr. Kevin Kemerer, associate professor of accounting and VITA site coordinator.

The VITA program offers free tax assistance to people who generally make $54,000 or less, as well as persons with disabilities and taxpayers who speak limited English. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)-certified volunteers provide basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals.

Kemerer said 24 of the 94 taxpayers who qualified for earned income-tax credit (EIC), a tax reduction and a wage supplement, would receive EIC refunds of $28,309.

Earlier this semester, the trained volunteers prepared a total of 119 tax returns, including 14 returns on paper.

The preparation of 119 returns, Kemerer said, resulted in estimated savings of $23,800 to filers from the local community who used the VITA program.

Through his service-learning course on federal income tax, Kemerer supervised students as they provided tax-preparation service to low- and moderate-income members of the community.

The participating students were John Bridier, Rowhann S. David, Stephanie D. Encarnacion, Karina Hinojosa, Treshania M. Hutton, Pedro E. Marrero, Juan J. Ojeda, Danialee Ortega, Isis-Candace R. Roberts, and Ricardo Burford. This was Burford’s second year as a volunteer.

Barry alumnus Nair Manuel also lent a hand with the tax preparation. This was her third year as a volunteer.

Kemerer, who has served for five years as a site coordinator for the IRS-sponsored program, gave a report of the achievements at the VITA site during the final meeting of his accounting class on May 3.

On hand to acknowledge the work of the volunteers were Gina Ruiz-Fernandez, IRS senior tax consultant; Dr. Orlando Barreto, interim dean of the School of Business; and Dr. Glenn Bowen, executive director of Barry’s Center for Community Service Initiatives.

Ruiz-Fernandez expressed appreciation to Kemerer and his students for their service and accomplishments at the VITA site over a five-year period. She said they were supporting the work of the Miami-Dade VITA Coalition and the IRS in meeting its stakeholder partnerships, education, and communication (SPEC) mission.

Ruiz-Fernandez also presented a certificate of appreciation to the School of Business “in recognition and appreciation of outstanding partnering contributions made in achieving the SPEC mission.”

Barry Students Support Call for Reform of Immigration, Affordable Housing, and Other Policies

A delegation from Barry joined representatives of faith-based organizations and local leaders at a community assembly recently to press for the reform of policies pertaining to immigration, affordable housing, gun violence, and juvenile justice.

The Miami-Dade coalition named PACT (People Acting for Community Together) organized the Nehemiah Action Assembly as an integral part of its efforts to seek the support of public officials for proposed policy changes.

PACT proposed policy reforms aimed at decreasing the number of county residents being deported due to their immigration status, increasing access to affordable housing, reducing gun violence, and improving approaches to school discipline. 

Throughout the spring semester, Barry students supported PACT’s efforts by assisting with community-led research and data aggregation, consulting with public officials, and rallying community members to support the proposed policy changes. Some of the students assisted PACT with onsite preparations for the Nehemiah Action Assembly.

More than 60 students, faculty, and staff from Barry attended the Nehemiah Action Assembly at Notre Dame d’Haiti Catholic Church in Little Haiti on March 19. Among them were Fabio Naranjo, a social work instructor, and his students.

Most of the students became involved in PACT’s work through the Barry Service Corps (BSC) as well as service-learning courses in theology, sociology, and communication.

Communication students, for example, produced video-clips to highlight PACT activities through social media. They also created small campaigns to raise awareness about PACT’s focus areas and annual events.

Barry Service Corps (BSC) Fellows Alberto Liriano, Jasmine Santiago, Dellayah Pleasure, Shayna Ramirez, and Antonio Rodriguez played a lead role among the students.

“The depth of PACT's work in the community can seem a bit complex,” said Donté Roberts, the program coordinator in the Center for Community Service Initiatives who serves as an advisor to students in the civic learning and leadership program. “The BSC Fellows host a number of orientations to familiarize students with what to expect when working with the grassroots organization.”

Experiential Learning Coordinator Liz James thanked the BSC Fellows for helping to provide theology and sociology students with “a meaningful and relevant service experience.”

The Nehemiah Action Assembly drew more than 1,400 community members and 30 public officials.

Officials in attendance included Miami-Dade County Chairman Esteban Bovo, Commissioners Daniella Levine Cava and Sally Heyman, and Police Director Juan Perez; City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Commission Chairman Keon Hardemon, Vice Chairman Ken Russell, and Police Chief Jorge Colina; Miami Gardens Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt; and Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.

PACT reached agreement with local officials that an initiative would be implemented to decrease arrests and detentions for minor offenses, which could lead to deportation. The officials also agreed to use designated county funds to implement group violence intervention programs and to identify a sustainable funding source for the Miami-Dade County Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

In addition, PACT noted Superintendent Alberto Carvalho’s reaffirmed commitment to expand the restorative justice program in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, starting with 49 middle schools and two high schools.

PACT will round out its current campaign with a celebration for the northern area of the county next Monday (May 21) and for the southern area on Tuesday (May 22).

Department of Physical Sciences Engages with Local Community

The Department of Physical Sciences has engaged in several community-focused events this academic year. Some events helped students meet the service-learning requirements of courses in the department.

Service-learning projects and volunteer activities have benefited mainly schools, including Liberty City Elementary, St. Mary’s Cathedral, and St. Rose of Lima.

Students in the Chemistry Club, led by Drs. George Fisher and Tamara Hamilton, paid three visits to Liberty City Elementary School in October. During the after-school visits, they presented Chemistry Magic Shows, fascinating the third- to fifth-grade students.

The department used its COACH (Community Outreach Approaching Chemistry Hands-on) Program to help maintain its partnership with St. Mary’s Cathedral School. Accompanied by Drs. Maurizio Giannotti and Tamara Hamilton, students in the program made three visits to fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms at that school in October and November.

The college students presented three experiments: “Signs of a Chemical Reaction,” “Electrical Circuits,” and “Analysis of Acids and Bases.”

Alberto Liriano, a senior completing his service-learning project for CHE 490, designed and led the analysis of acids and bases.

In December, several faculty members from Physical Sciences volunteered as judges for the St. Rose of Lima School Science Fair.

In the spring semester, faculty members helped to organize and judge St. Mary’s Science Fair. They provided feedback on the projects during a workshop for teachers and in writing to students in grades 6–8.

Hamilton was an honored guest at the Science Fair Awards Ceremony in February.

Throughout the semester, the department provided a series of hands-on laboratory experiments for a group of chemistry students from Doctors Charter School. Drs. John Boulos, Fisher, Hamilton, and Zuzana Zajickova served as mentors to the high school chemistry students.

Lab Director Maria Aloya procured a $100 gift-certificate donation from Flinn Scientific for Doctors Charter to purchase laboratory supplies. Doctors Charter students later engaged in a “Crystal-Growing Competition.” They learned skills of scientific inquiry and presentation, which they demonstrated in presentations at Barry’s STEM Symposium in April.

Elements of the competition were designed and led by Jocelyn Baquier, a senior completing her service-learning project for CHE 490.

Also throughout the spring semester, students in Zajickova’s instrumental analysis class engaged in a service-learning project as a collaborative effort with Urban GreenWorks in Liberty City. 

Aurora Burkus-Matesevac, Sidney Vest, and Alberto Liriano tested soil for the presence of lead, an environmental contaminant, in three plots of land currently used by the Urban GreenWorks for sustainable community gardens. The students presented this project during a poster competition at Barry’s Fifth Annual Community Engagement Symposium in March and won third place.

At the 255th American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, in March, Chemistry Club students were invited to give an oral presentation. Entitled “Barry University Chemistry Club: Success in Improving Science Outreach,” the presentation highlighted the results of their receiving an ACS Community Interaction Grant over several years.

Also at the ACS meeting, Dr. Tamara  Hamilton gave a talk on “Service-Learning Programs for Chemistry Majors and General Education Students” during the Division of Chemical Education Symposium, “Fundamentals of Chemistry Outreach Education: From Program Design to Assessment.”

On April 7, COACH Program students and faculty presented a “Chemistry Magic Show” during an on-campus Community Festival for Children organized by Barry’s Stamps Scholars and Cake’s on Us, Inc.

The following week, on April 13, local high schools competed in Barry’s 17th Annual Chemistry and Physics Tournament  consisting of oral, written, and laboratory events. In all, 126 students from 14 schools participated.

One portion of the Chemistry lab competition, including a demonstration, was developed and presented by senior chemistry major Alexandria Roach as her service-learning project in CHE 490.

Physical Sciences faculty, staff, and students visited Doctors Charter School on May 3 and presented the hands-on chemistry of a lava lamp to middle-school students.

Two other events are on the department’s calendar for this academic year. On May 23, students and faculty in the COACH Program will present lively chemistry demonstrations during a KAPOW (Kids and the Power of Work) field trip to Barry, hosted by the Center for Community Service Initiatives. And on June 12, the department will welcome high school students taking part in Barry’s Health Sciences Summer Camp for a chemistry lab experiment.

Applications Being Accepted for AmeriCorps VISTA Projects

“Go where you’re needed with AmeriCorps VISTA. Thousands of projects are accepting applications now.”

That’s the message from the AmeriCorps VISTA program administration at the Corporation for National and Community Service.

AmeriCorps VISTA members work with community organizations to help develop local job opportunities, increase access to education and housing, and promote healthy living. Many VISTA members work with universities.

For a one-year commitment, a VISTA member receives a modest living allowance, a $5,920 education award (which may be used to pay education expenses such as student loans), health and childcare reimbursements, and other benefits.

An AmeriCorps VISTA Information Session will be held on May 24, beginning at 3 p.m. During this session, prospective VISTA members will receive help in completing their applications and searching for available opportunities. Program administrators will be available to answer questions.

Registration for the virtual information session is required.