The Friends of the Hopkins Center and Hood Museum will rent lodging to Dartmouth families for the first time ever during Commencement and Reunion Weekend in June.
The program will help to ease the overcrowding in Hanover on Commencement weekend and the funds generated will help benefit the Hop and the Hood.
The Friends of the Hop and the Hood, a community group dedicated to raising money for the two institutions, will charge $75 a night for a double and $60 a night for a single.
Volunteers in the program will open up one or two rooms in their homes for anyone seeking lodging for Commencement, said Ellen Barrett, co-chair of the Friendly Host Program.
Jane Darrach, public relations chair for the program, said she expects 30 to 50 members of The Friends of the Hop and the Hood to volunteer to house guests.
Barrett said she thought the host program would receive about 30 requests this spring.
"Our response has been good from the seniors and their parents," said Anne Mason, the other co-chair of the host program.
But Barrett said since this is the first year they are trying the program, "We don't expect a lot, but at least a profit."
Barrett said the idea for the program came from a similar practice at Williams College.
"We stole it whole cloth from Williams College. They've done it 12 years and made a lot of money," Barrett said.
"It's been a tremendous success at Williams," Darrach said.
Williams earned $10,000 last year, according to Barrett.
She said the host program was a great way for parents of students to find a place to stay while also supporting the arts at the College.
"It's just very, very pleasant and neighborly and at the same time good for the arts," she said. "It's a win-win situation."
