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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s value of citizenship is in action throughout East St. Louis as residents are motivated to engage in their community’s rich history and actively contribute to its future growth.

The inspiring call to action is being led by Suman Mishra, PhD, associate professor and graduate program director in the College of Arts and Sciences’ (CAS) Department of Mass Communications. She and her media campaigns students are creating an #89BlocksStrong campaign in cooperation with East Side Aligned (ESA), a “collective impact process happening within the greater East St. Louis area to improve the readiness and well-being of young people.”

“We were approached by Jessica Wernli, a community organizer who works with several organizations in East St. Louis, to see if we could help her with various communication challenges that she and others were facing,” Mishra explained. “She needed help launching a grassroots campaign that would inspire and motivate people to get involved within their community. This was a big and challenging task, but an exciting one as I could engage my students in the community-oriented project.”

“I was looking for local partners who could help create an exciting and high-quality campaign, and Dr. Mishra was eager to get her students involved,” Wernli said. “She and her students have shown a lot of passion and care for the project and the residents who are at the center of it. I’m incredibly happy with how the campaign is coming together and can’t wait for the rest of the community to experience it.”

The high impact community engagement practice is supported by the CAS Targeted Funding Initiative (TFI). The TFI was launched in 2015 by CAS Dean Greg Budzban, PhD, and utilizes funding acquired through the College’s Winter Session courses and other CAS internal funds. To date, it has provided more than $700,000 to faculty and staff.

The #89BlocksStrong campaign has many components, from research to media and creative implementation. Students are conducting focus groups and developing surveys to better understand residents’ motivations to participate in community organizations and meetings, as well as their perceptions of East St. Louis.

Students are also designing a website, visual content for various social media platforms and promotional merchandising, and are working on media plan to construct and maintain the campaign’s social media channels.

“This project is very special to me,” said Malaya Downey, a graduate student pursuing SIUE’s integrative studies program with a focus on marketing and mass communications. “No matter who we talk to in East St. Louis, they tell us ‘It’s the people who make our city special.’

“East St. Louis is a city filled with ambition, pride and hope,” the Centralia native added. “This project gives us the opportunity and platform to inspire the development of those attributes within the East St. Louis community, while simultaneously introducing the heart of the city to the rest of America.”

“As a student researcher, this project has given me the chance to apply the production skills I learned as an undergraduate in a way I never have before,” explained Jonathan Johnson, of Florissant, Mo., a media studies graduate student. “I hope our campaign will increase community participation in East St. Louis and serve as a foundation for our partnering organizations to continue building upon in the future.”

According to Mishra, the project not only promotes involvement among community members, but also encourages students to be civic-minded.

“This is helping students apply what they have learned in class to the real-world,” Mishra explained. “It’s forcing them to be resourceful and engage in problem solving. It’s also making them more aware of community needs and generating a strong understanding of the importance of giving back.”

Mishra emphasizes the value of University and community collaborations, as they build partnerships, and create opportunities for faculty and students to apply academic knowledge, gain skills and have field experiences. Importantly, they have an impact in the region and make a positive difference in the lives of many.

Photos: Media campaigns students creating the #89BlocksStrong campaign stand alongside community organizer Jessica Wernli (front far left) and Dr. Suman Mishra (front second from left).

Project participants conduct a photoshoot in East St. Louis. (Photo courtesy Elizabeth Donald)

Students prepare for a focus group with East St. Louis residents. (Photo courtesy Akshiti Modi)