Students in Dr. David Droppa’s social work class Generalist Practice III: Organizations and Communities have been working this semester planning and coordinating a project to help the community of Monessen. And they’ll spend this Earth Day weekend putting that plan into action.

The social work students will be volunteering in the Monessen community as part of a clean-up and community beautification event the students planned alongside Monessen residents. 

Earlier this semester, the students held a community meeting in Monessen to learn more about the issues the community is facing and to seek input from residents about projects that the students could carry out to address these issues.  

The group decided on two days of clean-up and flower planting to help beautify the community, which was hard hit by the decline of the steel industry.

Read more about the students’ efforts in these articles in the Tribune-Review and the Washington Observer-Reporter.