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March is Social Work Month
Uplift. Defend. Transform.
Social Work Month was first celebrated in March 1963 to build public support for the profession. It has become an event celebrated by hundreds of thousands of social workers – and their supporters – each year.
Social workers are well-educated, train for years and develop expertise not just to change people, but to reshape systems that can help people live far richer and improved lives. Our society over the course of the last year has seen incredible upheavals that have changed our economy, the way we access and pay for care, and interact with one another.
That is why this year’s theme is Social Workers: Uplift. Defend. Transform.
The ability of Social Workers to uplift, defend and positively transform the millions of people they work with each day is needed now more than ever. That is because our nation is experiencing a period of deep cultural, political, and economic divide.
Social safety net programs such as Medicare and Medicaid face budget cuts. Voting rights are being rolled back in several states. Discrimination against certain populations, including transgender people and people of color, is on the rise. And our nation continues to face a mental health crisis, with suicide rates rising 36 percent between 2000 and 2022.
Social Workers are on the front lines, helping individuals and communities so they can overcome personal and societal challenges and even thrive. Social Workers are also adept at bringing people and communities together – no matter their political affiliation – so they can find common ground and work to improve the welfare of all.
There are more than 810,000 Social Workers in the United States and it is one of the fastest growing professions in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Social Workers are in all areas of our society – with veterans, in schools, in social service and child welfare agencies, in adoption and foster care, in mental health care and health care, and in local, state, and federal government to name a few.
You have social workers who uplift, such as Social Worker of the Year Victor Armstrong of North Carolina, a leading suicide prevention expert who helps people get the mental health support they need. You have Social Workers who help defend, such as Caitlin Ryan at the Family, Acceptance Project. Ryan advocates for LGBTQ youth, helping them gain acceptance and support of their families.
And there are social workers who transform, such as Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Dr. Georgia J. Anetzberger of Ohio, who has worked for more than 50 years to ensure people who are growing older can still live enriched, fulfilling lives with dignity.
During Social Work Month in March 2026, be sure to check out the NASW campaigns here: https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Social-Work-Month.
Share the amazing things you are doing as social workers and use these hashtags to promote Social Work Month: #UpliftDefendTransform #SWMonth2026 #SocialWorkMonth
Resources: https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Social-Work-Month
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