Overview
To enhance the academic preparation that students receive, it is essential that the university offer more applied experiences. Those UNLV graduates who are most likely to make an impact in the lives of Nevadans are those who have acquired specialized skill in identifying pressing community issues and developing related advocacy skills.
The Community Advocacy project has two goals:
(1) reach, teach, mentor, recognize, and award students (scholarship awards will be given to the top four advocacy projects) and (2) prepare students to develop community advocacy projects whereby they propose innovative ideas that are relevant to pressing community issues.

    2004 was our first year implementing the project, and due to the tremendous success of the initial pilot project, we are presently modifying the project guidelines to better work with participants and the community.
     Last year's first place winners were from the fields of social work and anthropology. Their collaborative effort was focused on verifying the need for low-cost emergency dental assistance for victims of domestic violence in the Las Vegas Valley. The other contest entries were:

• A project identifying affordable housing issues in Southern Nevada
• A Proposal for a drug abuse prevention program called "Breaking the Cycle"
• A project proposal regarding health issues for women of color over the age of forty in the Las Vegas Valley.

     We were excited by the large number of innovative responses that were offered by the students who came to the information sessions, and we are now altering the project based on the needs of the previous student participants in an effort to foster a better learning opportunity for participants in the second contest.
     At present, we are looking for new funding sources, altering the time frames and modifying the guidelines and parameters of the project. Our primary goals during the restructuring of the project are acquiring new funding and recruiting new community leaders to mentor student participants. We are presently accepting inquiries from all community professionals who would be interested in reaching out to a promising student and helping them to understand their power to help others in their community.
     If you have any questions regarding the Community Advocacy Project in general, such as becoming a mentor, offering assistance, or future dates of information sessions, please call Chris Selcer or Tara Baker at (702) 895-3941.