by Linda May Grobman, MSW, ACSW, LSW
Social Work Month! It's that time of year again to THANK A SOCIAL WORKER (you!) and for a month-long observance of “our month” with The New Social Worker. Please join us! First and foremost, I want to say THANK YOU for all you do, today and every day, this month and every month. Social workers are out there doing the hard work, all the time. Social workers care, and social workers put that caring into action with individuals, groups, families, organizations, and society through the core values of service, competence, integrity, the dignity and worth of the person, the importance of human relationships, and social justice. These very values are being challenged on a daily basis through policies often designed to undermine them. Thank you for being there through these difficult times and doing this vital work.
NASW Social Work Month 2025 logo
That caring and action is the very definition of this year’s Social Work Month theme designated by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW): “Social Work: Compassion+Action.” According to Merriam Webster, compassion means “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.” This goes beyond empathy, “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another,” by adding the component of acting or desiring to act to alleviate suffering or distress.
What does this theme mean to you? When I think about this theme, I think about the reasons I became a social worker in the first place. I think many of us enter the profession with a passion and compassionate desire to contribute to making the world better. How do we maintain that compassion over the years of a career, and how do we pass it to future generations of social workers?
This brings us to the theme for World Social Work Day on March 18, 2025. The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) has designated the theme “Strengthening Intergenerational Solidarity for Enduring Well-Being.”
The New Social Worker Social Work Month Project for 2025
For The New Social Worker’s Social Work Month Project for 2025, I asked our columnists and our readers to address one of these themes and/or an aspect of social work ethics and values. I am so excited about the results, and you will see the selected writings in our 2025 Social Work Month series throughout the month. Watch our website, Facebook page, and LinkedIn group for these new posts.
Bonus: Last year for Social Work Month, I put together a month-long calendar of writings from The New Social Worker that relate to power, empowerment, and Social Work Month.
You can download the 2024 calendar, and use the links to read each daily offering. You, your team, or your class can use it for a one-a-day dose of social work inspiration and EMPOWERMENT.
Social Work Month Through the Years
To explore Social Work Month through the past 11 years, click on a year below to see our Social Work Month Project series for that year. These are truly the "hidden" gems of our website! I hope you will take time this month (or any time) to read and be encouraged by them.
- 2024 empowerment
- 2023 breaking barriers
- 2022 the time is right for social work
- 2021 social workers are essential
- 2020 generations strong
- 2019 core values of social work
- 2018 leaders, advocates, champions
- 2017 positive stories
- 2016 inspirational writings
- 2015 social work talent
- 2014 creative writings
Our Values Are Always Timely!
Social workers serve others while respecting the dignity and worth of the person, with competence, with integrity, with a recognition of the importance of human relationships, and with a dedication to social justice. These core values are always timely for us as social work professionals. Social Work Month is a great time to recognize and highlight this commitment.
Remember, we will post new items on The New Social Worker’s website throughout March. Follow us on Facebook (click “Like” and then “Following” and “See first”) or subscribe to our publications, to make sure you don't miss anything!
Again... Thank you. Please join me.
In harmony, Linda
Linda May Grobman, MSW, ACSW, LSW, is the publisher, editor, and founder of The New Social Worker® magazine.