Dudley House Public Service: Upcoming Events

 

Spring Public Service Fair

Wednesday, February 8, 6-8 pm, Dudley Common Room

Have less classes second semester? Have more free time on your hands? Was fall semester not fulfilling? Come check out the public service fair to see how you can get involved in public service! Public service is a great way to help others, meet new people, and see the community in which we study. Come learn about various service organizations on campus, as well as one time and ongoing volunteering opportunities offered through Dudley house. Have fun.

 

Greater Boston Food Bank

Saturday, February 11, 12 - 4:30pm, Dudley House steps

The Food Bank is the largest in New England, and helps feed the nearly 517,000 hungry people in eastern Massachusetts. They can't do it without help! Come spend an afternoon helping the Food Bank sort food so that what they collect doesn't go to waste. Lots of action, lots of fun, very rewarding! Snacks and transportation costs will be provided.

To Sign up, send email to Linda

 

Homeless Meals Kick-Off

Thursday, Feb 16, 5:30, Dudley House steps

Come join us as we kickoff our the spring term volunteering at the Homeless Meals Program. We'll walk together to Christ Church and have a brief orientation to the program, its mission, and the people it serves before rolling up our sleeves and helping with cooking, serving, and cleaning up.

 

On the Rise Super Service Saturday (3/4)

On the Rise Super Service Saturday, March 4th 10:00am-1:00pm

Join Dudley volunteers for a Super Service Saturday at On the Rise, a local center for women who are homeless or in crisis. We will help out with a variety of hands-on volunteer projects that make the amazing work that On the Rise does possible, including yard work, organizing donations, painting, and preparing mailings. We will go on an informational tour of the house and refreshments will be served. All are welcome to volunteer (male and female volunteers welcomed)! Bring your friends, bring your family, or come on your own and meet new people.

Please email Fan to sign up or for more information. On the Rise is located a very short walk from Dudley House at 341 Broadway St.

Blood Drive

Thursday, March 9, 10-4pm, Dudley House steps

Did you know that every three seconds someone needs blood? Sign up to donate blood and save lives today. It may be the most fulfilling hour of your semester! One pint of blood can save as many as 3 lives!

To Sign up, send email to Linda

 

Boston MS Walk

Saturday, April 8th.  11am steps of Dudley House

Join Team Dudley as we walk to raise funds and awareness for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's research, education and support for people with MS and their families. Walkers may choose a three- or six-mile scenic route along accessible pathways that follow the banks of the Charles River. Invite your friends to join you for a brisk spring walk! The National Multiple Sclerosis Society devotes 78% of its revenue to MS research, and to help fund local initiatives like peer support groups, education and programs that connect people with MS to health care experts. If you would like to participate in the walk, please

1. Let your Dudley Public Service Fellow know by emailing at dudleypublicservice@gmail.com

2. Register for the walk by phone (1-800-493-WALK) or online at www.msnewengland.org . Be sure to register as a member of Team Dudley! Registering online is easy and enables you to create a personal fundraising webpage and generate "sponsor me" and "join my team" emails.

3. Invite friends, classmates, and neighbors to sponsor you or join our team!

4. Meet on the Dudley House steps at 11am on April 8th, get ready, get set, Walk!
E-mail Fan at dudleypublicservice for more info!

 

 

Charles River Earth Day Cleanup

Saturday, April 29th. 9 am Dudley House Steps

Come celebrate Earth Day and spend a morning along the Charles River to help clean up and restore the beauty of the River! The cleanup goes from 9 AM to 12 PM between River Street and JFK Street. The cleanup will be followed by a post-cleanup picnic with live music and free refreshments. Work gloves, bags and other supplies will be provided.

For more information or sign up, please email Fan

 

 

SPRING PHONE-A-THON!!

Tuesday April 25th, 5:30 pm Steps of Dudley House
We are excited to initiate the first graduate stuent Spring Phone-a-thon!!  During the Spring Phone-a-thon we will be making "thank you" calls to our donors. More details to come soon.

Please e-mail Fan if you are interested in helping or for more information.

 

Volunteer For ARTS FIRST

Saturday, May 6

 

Over four remarkable days each May, ARTS FIRST presents more than 200 music, theatre, dance, and visual arts events to the Harvard, Cambridge and Boston communities. Sponsored by Harvard's Board of Overseers and instigated by former Overseer and Emmy-award winning actor John Lithgow '67, ARTS FIRST is now in its fourteenth year. Volunteers play a crucial role in the Performance Fair on Saturday afternoon, May 6. Join us backstage as a crew member or at the door as an audience greeter. No experience is necessary, Spouses and partners are also invited to help out -- it's a great way to get involved in campus life! ARTS FIRST volunteers receive an ARTS FIRST 2006 T-shirt and an invitation to the post-Performance Fair party for performers and volunteers.

Contact Ingrid Schorr at arts@fas.harvard.edu for more information.

 

 

Invisible Children

Monday, April 17th, 7-8:30pm. Graduate Student Lounge, Dudley House

Can a story change the world? In the spring of 2003, three young Americans from California left in search of such a story.  What they found was a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them. Come, and discover the unseen. This film is fast paced, with an MTV beat, made for the young and the young at heart.  To see Africa through young eyes is funny, and heart breaking, quick, and informative, all in the very same breath. See this film, you will be forever changed.

Questions? E-mail Linda at dudleypublicservice@gmail.com .


Creative Indian Arts Class for Children

Thursday, April 20th, 1-3pm.  Graduate Student Lounge, Dudley House

      Join  Kiran Soni Gupta as leads an engaging workshop for kids during the April break!  Set up specifically for the children of graduate students and postdocs, the workshop will include homemade Indian snacks and Indian crafts.  Clay modeling and Indian paper cutting (for those old enough) are on the agenda!  Kids of all ages welcome.
      E-mail Linda at dudleypublicservice@gmail.com to sign up (and please also indicate the ages of the kids)!


Indian Cooking Classes

Sunday April 23 and 30th Private Dining Room, Dudley House

The two cooking classes are introductory classes to Indian cuisine, where one explores the diversity of flavours produced by the mystical world of Indian spices. The Indian Cooking classes on Indian Curries & Breads are professionally designed by Kiran Soni Gupta to equip the participants with skills of cooking Indian meals especially Indian curries and a  variety of breads including paranthas, hulka, puris, bhaturas, snacks, pulao, chutneys, raitas, deserts and other complementary dishes. Kiran will initiate the participant to the family recipes the Indian cooking that she learned from her mother. The Course covers different types of Starters, Curries, Rice, Dals, Breads and desserts. On completion of this course, the participant would be able to cook Indian dishes with ease and serve family and friends.

Class I: Sunday, 04/23/06 (6:00 - 8:00 PM)
        The preparation would cover Chat Papdi (Starter), Aaloo Subzi (Potato curry), seasonal vegetable- cauliflower and Puri.

Class II: Sunday, 4/30/06 (4:30 – 6:30 PM)

The preparation would cover pakoras (starters) followed by the main meal of kadi, pulao (rice biryani), raita, and sooji ka halwa.

Costs: $10 per dinner (costs includes all supplies as well as dinner) Location: The courses will be held in the Private Dining Room in Dudley house. To register: There will be 15 slots available for each dinner.  Feel free to sign up for one or both meals.  Sign up with Chad on the 3rd Fl of Dudley House. Open to Dudley House members.
Questions? E-mail Linda at dudleypublicservice@gmail.com .

Walk For Hunger

Sunday May 7th, 2006.  Meet at Dudley House steps at 8:00am.

Join Dudley House and the public service fellows in Project Bread's Walk for Hunger.  This Walk is the largest annual fundraiser for the hungry in Massachusetts, and thousands participate in this fun and
scenic 20 miles walk.  To help, sign up online at www.projectbread.org and join Team Dudley and raise money, or help out by just pledging! Make sure to join team "Dudley House"!!
      Questions? E-mail Linda at dudleypublicservice@gmail.com .


On-going Clothing Drive


Can't see into your closet?  Have more clothes than you can wear? Have clothes that you never wear?  Please help by donating your still wearable clothing into donation boxes in the lobby of Dudley House. Clothing collected will go to the Luthern Church homeless shelter in Harvard Square.

Dudley Hands!

Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday 3:15 - 4pm

Dudley is now tutoring and working in Baldwin School (Cambridge Public Schools!) Come join us as we tutor students in math and reading, or help us create some exciting new after-school programs for the kids. The afterschool programs include: multicultural explorations, social justice, and engineering! The school is less than a 5 minute walk from the residence halls, so no excuses! Come make a difference in the community today!
E-mail Linda to learn how to get involved.

 

 

HARVARD SQUARE HOMELESS MEALS PROGRAM

Every Thursday, Drop in any time between 2:30 and 8PM

Dudley volunteers help prepare and serve hot dinners to the homeless and hungry every Thursday at the Harvard Square Homeless Meals Program at Christ Church Cambridge at Zero Garden Street. Whether you have an hour or an entire afternoon to give, your help will make a difference to people in need.

 

 

Why volunteer?

Participating in public service activities while at Harvard not only makes an important contribution to our community, but also gives you the opportunity to take a break from the rigors of academia, share your diverse interests and talents, meet new people, and get to know Boston and Cambridge. Students eligible for federal financial aid can even earn $13.75/hour (graduate students) or $9.25/hour (undergraduates) for their public service work.

As the United Way of Massachusetts Bay writes in Simple Things You Can Do to Make a Difference in Greater Boston (1996):

"Every day in greater Boston, in its small towns and larger cities, a child waits to have a mentor. A young parent needs literacy skills. An elderly grandfather looks forward to visiting with and talking with someone. At no time has the work of volunteers been more critical to the health of our communities than it is today.... Our communities in greater Boston are home to 775,000 illiterates and functional illiterates, 6,000 homeless families, 12,000 hungry children, 24,000 abused children, and 6,500 pregnant teens. There are as many different ways to volunteer as there are people who want to help."

 

How to get involved

Enjoy working with enthusiastic kids from diverse backgrounds? Want to try out your culinary skills at a local soup kitchen serving meals for the homeless? Whether you are a government student from Ohio interested in human rights, a physics student hoping to mentor a budding young scientist, or a biology student from China looking to share your cultural heritage with others, Dudley House and Harvard provide numerous opportunities for involvement in Public Service.

Do you want to volunteer but don't know where to start? Take advantage of our Volunteer Placement Service! International students may want to check out the section devoted to your particular interests and concerns.

Rather explore public service options on your own? Browse our Programs section, which lists organizations Dudley House members have been involved in. To get a better idea of public service at Dudley, you can also visit our Archive for photos and descriptions of past events.

Opportunities range from mentoring or tutoring students in the local public school system, volunteering for Amnesty International, helping out with the ongoing Harvard Homeless Meals Program, lending a hand at building subsidized housing units, giving toys or canned food in one of our semi-annual drives, or participating in one-shot opportunities such as the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk.

Please explore our website using the links on the left to find out more about these volunteer opportunities and how you can make a difference!

 

To learn more, or if you have ideas or questions, please contact the Dudley Public Service Fellows: Linda and Fan.

 

© Dudley Public Service (page last modified April 6, 2006 )