Community Engagement

Community engagement isn’t just a form of service at Penn Nursing: it’s essential to who we are. Community engagement is a fundamental aspect of Penn Nursing’s social justice mission. Our research and clinical expertise benefit those who live and work around us. Our community, in turn, helps us truly understand what we seek to learn in the classroom, lab, and clinical setting.

The heart of our work

At Penn Nursing, community engagement forms the backbone of how we communicate, translate, and apply nursing knowledge. For us, this is not only our mission but a heartfelt commitment to partner with our community to improve health and promote positive social change in communities around Philadelphia and the world.

Several Penn Nursing students have successfully incorporated community engagement as winners of the competitive President Engagement Prize. These prizes reflect Penn Nursing and Penn’s commitment to public service by rewarding students who demonstrate a purpose-driven desire to get out and make a difference — in their community, across the country, and around the world.

Featured Event

September 18 | 12:00pm - 1:00pm

“Nurses for the Vote, Chart the Future” Student Volunteer Training

The Office of Community Engagement (OCE) is hosting a training session for students to learn how to utilize the Vot-ER platform and engage the community in voter participation. We are enthusiastic about the pivotal role that nurses can play in the upcoming election. Food and Drinks will be served at the Training Session.

Learn More “Nurses for the Vote, Chart the Future” Student Volunteer Training

Meet Our Team

Sydney Edelson, BS, CAAP

Program Coordinator, Office of Diversity and Inclusivity, and Community Engagement

Monique S. Howard, EdD, MPH

Senior Director of Community Engagement

Community partnerships and outreach

Working with our community partners has helped our outreach programs touch hundreds of thousands of lives, especially those of marginalized communities.

Our outreach efforts are supported through student-led initiatives such as Community Champions.

Part of the curriculum

Penn recognizes that putting theory to practice not only drives home academic concepts, it opens the eyes of students to related, real-life, human issues. Our Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) courses help you turn your knowledge into civic leadership, and are offered at Nursing and across the University.

Media

Making Change Happen

Nurturing the Next Generation of Nurses

See how Dean Villarruel and Penn Nursing students and IBX Foundation nurse interns, Leslie Njingang and José Maciel, are nurturing the next generation of nurses by emphasizing the importance of patient care and advocacy.

Play video

Testing a Novel, Community-driven Response to Heat Islands in Philadelphia

The North Philadelphia neighborhood of Hunting Park is what’s known as a heat island, where a lack of greenery and excess of concrete make it hotter than other areas. With a grant from the Penn Community Collaboratory for Co-Creation, researchers from three Penn schools – Penn Nursing, Penn Engineering, and Weitzman School of Design – partnered with a local nonprofit to design, build, and test a prototype for a solar-powered bus stop cooling shelter.

New Multi-year, Multi-million Dollar Grant Supports Ongoing Partnership Between Penn Nursing and City of Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL), funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is pleased to announce a new $5.5 million NIH grant focused on chronic disease self-management among Philadelphia residents. The project builds on a sustained strategic partnership between Penn Nursing, the Philly CEAL Community Advisory Coalition, and the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO).

Community Champions LOVE tiny humans!

Community Champions- HUP Baby Friendly Initiative

Community Champion nursing students have been part of the HUP Baby Friendly Transition Program for 2 years.

Our Nursing students love working with the nurses in the ICN. They spend their time reading to babies, holding the ones that need extra comfort, and talking to new parents about transitioning out of the hospital. To learn more about getting involved with community champions email: upenncommunitychampions@gmail.com