GENERAL RESOURCES: Models of Community Partnerships

UNIVERSITY ARTS PROGRAMS OR COMMITTEES

Arts Committee on AIDS The Harvard University Arts Committee on AIDS (HUACA) is a volunteer group that coordinates arts activities, open to the Boston-Cambridge community, commemorating Harvard AIDS Awareness Week. Comprised of staff and students involved in visual and performing arts, health education, and AIDS research, HUACA encourages student involvement in artistic projects to increase AIDS awareness through the arts and has worked with city agencies such as Cambridge Cares About AIDS.

Ceramics Studio, Office for the Arts, an international collaborative workshop which attracts a diverse group of professionals, students, and community members who take classes, obtain independent study credit, share work space, and learn from visiting artists.

Community Arts Partnerships Committee, Office for the Arts, a group representing various Harvard departments which convenes bi-monthly to foster links between undergraduate arts groups and the Boston area community. Call the Office for the Arts, 495-8676

Cultural Rhythms, coordinated by the students of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, features multicultural performances of music, dance, and poetry, followed by an international food festival. The 15th annual event takes place on February 26th and celebrates Harvard's rich cultural diversity. Call the Harvard Foundation Office, 495-1527.

Dance Program, Office for the Arts, offers co-curricular courses in ballet, choreography, modern jazz, and tap, and presents workshops and master classes with visiting artists. The Dance Program's High School Outreach initiative invites qualified high school-aged dancers to participate in classes with Harvard undergraduates at no cost.

V.O.Y.A.G.E., is a weekend program, run by volunteers, for youth ages 1013 that combines looking at art with art making. V.O.Y.A.G.E. was instituted by the Department of Public Education at the Harvard University Art Museums to build relationships with the Cambridge community and create experiences to help young people come to know and love art. Call 495-4402.

STUDENT ARTS/SERVICE GROUPS

If you're involved in a student group that combines the arts with community service and would like to be featured on this website, contact the OFA at 5-8676.

MIHNUET (Music in Hospitals and Nursing Homes Using Entertainment as Therapy) builds positive relationships between Harvard students and the elderly or ill via the gift of music. Volunteers bring live music to area hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices.

HARMONY (Harvard-Radcliffe Musical Outreach to Neighborhood Youth)
Nearly 100 Harvard students with background in an instrument or voice give music lessons to local elementary and high school students who cannot afford private lessons. Email: harmony@hcs.

HAND (House and Neighborhood Development Program) coordinates public service projects in the Cambridge and Greater Boston by pairing each undergraduate House with a Cambridge public school. HAND welcomes the help of students who enjoy theater, arts and crafts, music, and working with children. Contact the HAND office, 495-3756.

CityStep takes Harvard students to Cambridge public schools twice a week to inspire fifth- and sixth-graders through dance and other creative arts.Call the CityStep office, 496-1491.

STUDENT ARTS GROUPS

If you're involved in a student arts group that works in partnership with the community and would like to be featured on this website, contact the OFA at 5-8676.

The Bach Society Orchestra, a 40-member student-run chamber orchestra, performs a concert in conjunction with HARMONY students who rehearse and perform a few short pieces with the orchestra.

Ballet Folklorico de Aztlan performs traditional dances from northern Mexico and the states of Chiapas, Veracruz, and Jalisco. Undergraduates, graduate students, and area residents are welcome at the Wednesday evening and Saturday morning practices.

The Harvard University Band, Harvard's marching band, sponsors Trombone Day during which local high school trombonists take part in a clinic, followed by a rehearsal and appearance with the band. Call 496-BAND (2263).

Catholic Student Association Choir sings weekly for the 5 PM Student Mass at St. Paul's parish. The group fosters community partnership through cooperative projects with choirs from other parishes such as a past exchange with a choir from a Boston-area Spanish church.

Chun-Sa Dance Troupe performs ancient Korean court dances. Chun-Sa fosters community partnership by performing for Korean children adopted by non-Korean parents and it hopes to hold workshops to allow them more contact with their culture through dance and music. Contact Guemmy Kim (grkim@fas) in Eliot House..

Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra is America's oldest continuously performing symphony orchestra. HRO organizes a program called OUTREACH, in which smaller groups from within the orchestra perform for local elementary schools.

Hyperion Theater Company, is Harvard's first and only Shakespeare performance company. The company sponsors an interactive learning community service program between production seasons. The company plans initiations for high-school level education in Shakespearean language and imagery for the internet.

Israeli Dance Troupe enjoys participating in the rich heritage and culture of Israel through dance and choreography performed at festivals such as Cultural Rhythms. All members of the Harvard community are welcome.

Kuumba is a multicultural organization formed in 1970 to reflect the genius of black people through music. Kuumba sings at schools and churches in the Boston area. Call the Kuumba Office, 496-4755.

Scottish Country Dancing performs several times a year at balls, social events, and at ARTS FIRST. Harvard undergraduates, GSAS students, faculty, staff, and community members are welcome at social dancing and classes for all ages and levels on Monday evenings at the YMCA in Central Square. Call Joan Young, 484-0950.

Under Construction is a coed a cappella singing group that focuses on music relating to Christian faith. The group performs at nursing homes and local churches.

The Wind Ensemble is a group of wind, brass, and percussion players specializing in contemporary literature for wind instruments. The group performs for children at St. Anthony's School in Allston. Email the group (hwe@hcs), or call Director Tom Everett (everett@fas), 496-BAND (2263).

STUDENT SERVICE GROUPS

If you're involved in a community service group interested in pursuing a partnership with an arts organization and would like to be listed on this website, contact the OFA at 5-8676.

Fresh Pond Enrichment Program (FPEP) is an after-school tutoring program in a low income community composed primarily of first and second-generation immigrants from Haiti, South and East Asia, and elsewhere. Tutor instill the value of education through meaningful interaction and through classes, including writing, world cultures, math, science, art, music, drama and Odyssey of the Mind.

Age group: 5-16 (most 6-12)

Field Trip capability: yes

Interested in free/discount tickets: yes

Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment (BRYE 1-2-1) is a big sibling program for Southeast Asian refugee children who have graduated from other BRYE programs and thus have an acquaintance with English. The program seeks to help them experience parts of American culture they might otherwise miss, give them role models to look up to, and make friendships that endure.

Would 1-2-1 be interested in linking up with Arts groups at Harvard?

Yes, definitely! We've always wanted to. It'd be great to see a performance if we had free tickets! The kids would love it . This is a great idea! I can't tell you how many times we've wanted to take our kids to a show or teach arts like dance or pottery, but it's been hard to dig up the funds or reach the right groups.

Age group: 7-15

Field trip capability: yes

Interested in free/discount tickets: yes

Chinatown Teen is a tutoring and enrichment program for seventh and eighth graders in Boston's Chinatown, a neighborhood with the lowest median income and the highest rate of overcrowding in the Boston area. Volunteers spend two hours a week helping teens by individually working on homework by leading special projects.

Would you be interested in linking up with Arts groups at Harvard?

Sure. We've already done things with various groups in the past, but would love to have a more concrete connection.

Can you take field trips to concerts on the Harvard campus if offered free tickets?

Again, yes! It's the type of stuff our kids don't get to see all that often.

Age group: 12-14

Field trip capability: yes

Interested in free/discounted tickets: yes

HAND (Housing and Neighborhood Development) is dedicated to involving Harvard/Radcliffe students in public service projects in the Cambridge/Boston Community. Inspired by the principle of neighborhood and motivated by the desire to be good neighbors, HAND volunteers work as partners with members of the community, in the Cambridge public schools, and in a wide range of other community service programs, to enrich and improve the city both call home. HAND provides a model for building public service into everyday life at Harvard and beyond.

Would you be interested in linking up with Arts groups at Harvard?

HAND might be interested in knowing about up-coming performances and tickets to groups on campus, especially if we knew about these several weeks in advance. We generally serve elementary children and if events were appropriate for that age, we could use tickets to give to mentor-mentee pairs, or could plan visits from some of the students at our partner schools that would include a performance.

Franklin After School Enrichment (FASE) is a service program dedicated to enriching the lives of youths from the Franklin Hill and Franklin Field housing projects by providing a nurturing environment for learning. The program provides academic assistance to children having problems with their homework and supplements this academic help with additional curriculum and creative learning aids.

Age group: 6-12

Number of participants: 25

Field Trip capability: 3-4 times a semester, plus 1-2 sleepovers on Harvard campus each semester, a perfect time to see a concert.

Refugee Youth Term Enrichment (RYTE) tutors high-school aged Southeast Asian refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Somalia in English as a Second Language and college preparation. Each tutor spends 2 hours per week with his/her tutee. In addition, RYTE gives students exposure to American culture with organized trips to places of interest in Cambridge/Boston.

Would RYTE be interested in linking up with Arts groups at Harvard?

We would definitely like to link up with arts groups. Many of our students are interested in the arts and would like to learn more.

Can RYTE take field trips to concerts on the Harvard campus, if offered free tickets?

Yes, we have actually looked into taking our students to concerts before. The problem has been figuring out which concerts to go to (our students would be more likely to go to matinees, though night performances would be wonderful as well).Another impediment to taking students to performances has been money; free tickets would be very welcome. (A significant discount would also help a lot)

Age group: high school

Fieldtrip capability: yes

Interested in free/discount tickets: yes