03/03/2021
This month we’re celebrating two important national holidays, National Social Work Month and Women’s History Month.
National Social Work Month was first organized in March of 1963 by National Association of Social Workers as a way to encourage public support for the profession. Then in 1984, a joint resolution of Congress was passed and was proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan under Proclamation 5167 on March 22 as National Professional Social Work Month.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) theme for Social Work Month 2021 is Social Workers Are Essential because social workers are essential to community well-being.
Women’s History Month began as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California. The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women planned and executed a “Women’s History Week” celebration in 1978. The organizers selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International Women’s Day. The movement spread across the country as other communities initiated their own Women’s History Week celebrations the following year.
In 1980, a collaboration of women’s groups and historians led by the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women's History Alliance) successfully lobbied for national recognition. In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8, 1980 as National Women’s History Week
This month let’s celebrate social workers and women who are improving the lives of individuals and communities across this nation.
