Schools

Roosevelt University’s Yearlong Campaign for Child Immunizations Makes Difference


ShotforLife

CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–May 14, 2015.  A year-long campaign led by Roosevelt University Associate Professor LaVonne Downey and Roosevelt’s United Nations Association (RU-UNA)  student chapter (pictured above) has successfully engaged the Roosevelt community in raising funds and awareness about the need to immunize children against measles, polio and other diseases.

“Roosevelt students who have been involved with the United Nations chapter this academic year are reaping the benefits of working on a campaign with an international impact,” said Downey, associate professor of public administration.

The Roosevelt initiative is affiliated with the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life global campaign. Downey said she hopes student involvement with both the local and global campaigns will encourage global citizenship and increase awareness about the important work the United Nations is doing to make change for the better around the world today.

Mary Andoh, a graduate student in Roosevelt’s Master of Public Administration Program, said this year’s campaign experience with RU-UNA will help her in reaching her career goals as well.  “My concentration in the MPA program is in healthcare services and the events we participated in during the academic year are exactly the kind of things that I would like to do with my career,” she said.

In February, Downey and students in RU-UNA teamed up for Shot@Life’s nationwide social media campaign, 60 Shots in 60 Days, raising more than $800 for child vaccinations. The Roosevelt team placed second among 25 universities who took on the Shot@Life fundraising challenge. As a result of the team’s fundraising efforts, more than 80 children around the world will have access to life-saving shots, according to Downey.

During the year, Downey and RU-UNA also have worked with Roosevelt’s Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program and Associate Professor Lee Earle to raise more than $4,900.  In that effort, Earle worked with students in his IMC capstone class to implement sales and grassroots campaign tactics that resulted in collection of hundreds of small donations from students and staff. About 20 percent of funds raised by Earle and his class came from social media campaigning.

Extending the Roosevelt team’s reach beyond the University, Downey also forged partnerships with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Robert Morris University. As part of the CPS partnership, students from 15 public schools learned from members of RU-UNA this spring about the need for child immunizations globally.

“I have to give much of the credit for our success to Dr. Downey,” said Paul Dismukes, another graduate student in the MPA program. “She is well connected and has facilitated many of our efforts.  She has made it possible for our chapter to be able to oversee the campaign and make decisions on what direction the overall project should take. The opportunities working with the Roosevelt student chapter on this project have been limitless,” he said.

Shot@Life is a movement that makes a call to action for the increased availability of vaccinations in developing countries. The campaign builds on the 13-year legacy of the UN Foundation as a leading partner in the Measles Initiative and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. To donate to the campaign visit: www.tinyurl.com/RUCaresToday.

Source: www.roosevelt.edu


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