Photo by: Alison Shaw
Foam-board posters, presentations by students and faculty and a special keynote speaker from the Denver Commission to End Homelessness offered big ideas on how the DU community can help end homelessness.
At the Public Good Conference, held in the Driscoll Ballroom last Friday, over 180 participants shared their ideas for public good projects and reiterated the value that DU places on public good in the Denver community.
Those attending discussed public good projects and efforts on defining and organizing public good efforts.
“The goal of the conference is to get a group of people together to work collaboratively to solve salient issues,” said Glenn Fee, associate director of the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning (CCESL).
The conference consisted of an early morning poster session put on by sophomore Pioneer Leadership Program students introducing their Community Change Initiative plans, the service endeavors that make up the core of their sophomore curriculum.
Proceeding the poster session was a series of information sessions, ranging in subject matter from students organizing for change to projects addressing the issue of the high price of textbooks.
In addition to these sessions, conference attendees had the option of attending panel and roundtable discussions on issues imperative to the understanding of public good. Specifically, defining public good, what public good means on the DU campus and how members of the community are currently engaging in public good work.
The keynote speaker at lunch was Jamie Van Leeuwen, the project manager for Denver’s Road Home and key contributor to the 10-year plan to end homelessness in Denver.
Van Leeuwen spoke of the components of the plan to end homelessness, the origination of the project and his personal inspiration to get involved with homelessness.
“I grew up in a neighborhood that was well-off in terms of resources. I went to a good school. I was going to become a surgeon. I never knew what it was like to be in an sort of need,” said Van Leeuwen.
It was his experiences in working with those who did know the feeling of need that redirected his life aspirations to the nonprofit sector, specifically dealing with homelessness. Van Leeuwen said he first began working with the homeless in New Orleans and soon gave up his plans for medical school.
Leeuwen’s presentation of Denver’s Road Home’s mission to end homelessness generated resounding applause from the audience, as well as expressions of support from DU community members.
Provost Greg Kvistad, who introduced Van Leeuwen, said, the Public Good Conference would define public good on the DU campus and was a product of the mission of DU, which emphasizes the importance of public good as part of a well-rounded education.
“Public good is utilizing talents, skills and interests and working closely with the community to make a link that will help in solving critical problems in the community,” said Fee, adding, “We want DU to be Denver’s university. We are teaching students that no matter what decisions they make, they will always be part of a community.”
