National Association of Social Workers

Social Work Month Evolves Over Decades

Promotion Moving From Annual to Year-Round Push

Publicity "blitzes" of letter writing and advertising have developed over the years.

By Lyn Stoesen, News Staff

Illustration: John Michael Yanson

Social workers, especially those who have been in the field for more than a few years, have come to associate the month of March with National Professional Social Work Month. Marked in different ways across the country, with events ranging from university social work department parties to large-scale advertising campaigns, the month has been a part of a decades-long effort to promote the profession.

The Early Years. NASW sponsored its first National Social Workers' Month in 1963 "to stimulate public interest and support for professional social services provided by public and voluntary agencies across the country," according to an issue of NASW News published at the time.

To push for this recognition, the association supported television ad campaigns during those years. In 1964, chapters were asked to underwrite the cost of film prints for local television stations to broadcast spot announcements "giving a broad interpretation of social work's contribution to human welfare."

The television spots encouraged people interested in social work to contact the National Commission for Social Work Careers, which had been formed under the joint sponsorship of NASW and the Council on Social Work Education in 1961. Following National Social Worker's Month in 1964, 35,000 inquiries came to the commission.

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From March 2004 NASW News. © 2004 National Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved. NASW News articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of copyright and credit to the NASW News must appear on all copies made. This permission does not apply to reproduction for advertising, promotion, resale, or other commercial purposes.