CBL Project with Children’s Advocacy Center to Raise Awareness During Child Abuse Prevention Month

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time dedicated to recognizing the importance of working together to strengthen families to prevent child abuse and neglect, a critical issue affecting children and families across the globe and from all walks of life. In the United States alone, a report of child abuse is made once every 10 seconds. To help raise awareness by sharing critical child abuse and neglect prevention and reporting information, two sections of Dr. Ovidiu Cocieru’s MGT 352: Management, Marketing & Entrepreneurship courses partnered with the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania (CAC NEPA) on a community-based learning (CBL) project to organize and implement a QR code prevention and awareness campaign.   

During the month of April, over 40 businesses in the greater Scranton area are participating in this QR code prevention and awareness campaign. For this CBL project, the CAC NEPA created stickers with a QR Code that, when scanned, links to the CAC NEPA prevention informational pamphlet that contains general information about the CAC NEPA and its services, as well as information on child abuse prevention, signs and symptoms of abuse, and how to report abuse. University of Scranton students from Dr. Cocieru's MGT 352 courses worked with the CAC and the Office of Community-Based Learning to recruit businesses that would place the CAC stickers on their products.  

“April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and a time to celebrate the critical role that communities play in protecting children. This month and throughout the year, the Children’s Advocacy Center of NEPA (CAC NEPA) encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making Lackawanna County a better place for children and families. Educating communities on child abuse prevention and building awareness of the extent of the problem is a big part of what we hope to accomplish through the Community Based Learning project,” said Marsha Pigga, executive director, CAC NEPA.   

Education is the first step in preventing child abuse and neglect. The greater Scranton business partners were a key part of getting this important information into the hands of their patrons via the QR code stickers on their products. All involved in this project are grateful for the outpouring of support from the local business community.   

“I was a bit nervous about approaching businesses, but they were more receptive to our community-based [learning] project than I anticipated. I learned that Scranton has a strong community on and off-campus that are willing to help students make a difference. … I appreciate being able to take a class that allows me to interact with the off-campus community,” said Kayla Alvero ‘22 strategic communications major.  

In addition to addressing this important community issue, students in Dr. Cocieru’s courses are also finding a new way to bring their coursework to life outside of the classroom.  

From a learning perspective, our collaboration with the Children’s Advocacy Center is invaluable because it gives students a context in which they can experience working with others towards a common, meaningful goal. They can use the project to reflect on the way motivation, leadership, interpersonal relationships and communication evolve over time in a real-world setting. I was extremely impressed with the students’ commitment to the community and the openness with which businesses in Scranton have responded,” said Dr. Cocieru.  

As a part of the CBL partnership and project, students are able to apply key themes and course concepts from Dr. Cocieru’s courses through working on this project, which in turn helps students reflect on both their own learning and also to gain experience.   

“Within the Management 352 class, we have spent most of our class time learning how to adapt and become effective members of a company," said Justin Galli ’22 accounting major. "The topics we have covered include being an effective leader, motivating yourself and a group, how to be an effective member of a group and team, how to communicate effectively (in a work environment), and how to manage conflicts that arise between colleagues and yourself. All these skills are important to have, but without applying them you are not able to see what truly is effective and what is not. The CBL project was a collaborative task that allowed us to implement what we learned and use it in a positive way to help the community of Scranton. All these components matter because in the accounting/business field we will need to communicate with more than just our colleagues and we will need to be able to problem-solve when our original plan is not as attainable as we thought."

Students appreciate the opportunity to both address a community-defined need and also to have the opportunity to take what they learn in the classroom out to the real world.  

“Almost every lesson, that we have covered thus far, can offer insight as to how we should approach the assignment or can strengthen our understanding of how course material is prevalent in the real world...This course and experience can shape the way students network with companies, encourage them to reflect on what type of management style suits them, and evaluate what underlying social causes are they willing to support in a business setting,” said Jordyn Lieber ’23, business administration major, counseling and human services and leadership minors. 

Through the process of planning and implementing this project, Dr. Cocieru’s students learned that the greater Scranton business community has done just this type of reflection on the importance of community connections and collaboration.  

“I have learned that many of these small businesses have been more than willing to take on the extra work to help us raise awareness of the great work that the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northern Pennsylvania does for children who have been abused. This project has helped me realize the impact that we as college students can have on the community and how powerful our voice can be if we work together and use what we have learned to bring the Scranton community together for a great cause,” continued Lieber. 

The CAC NEPA QR code awareness campaign will continue throughout the month of April, but it is important to remember this important issue all year long. For more information about the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania, please visit cacnepa.org. For more information and questions on The University of Scranton’s Office of Community-Based Learning, please email community@scranton.edu.  

Business and Community-Partners: