The Tucker Foundation, the College's largest volunteer organization, offers various options for students looking to volunteer on campus, within the community and throughout the world.
While some people may believe Dartmouth's location in the Upper Valley, far from the crime and turmoil of the city, may leave few opportunities for philanthropy, it is easier to get involved with community service than one might think.
"There are tons of things students can do on campus for community service," said Volunteer Coordinator of the Tucker Foundation Randall Quan '92. "There are about 22 student-run service projects at Tucker that about 1,100 students get involved in every year."
The most popular of these on-campus volunteer options is the mentoring program, which includes 240 Big Brothers and Big Sisters and around 85 Book Buddies.
The Big Brother-Big Sister Program allows Dartmouth students to formlifelong friendships with area children. Students meet with their little siblings a few hours a week and participate in a variety of activities.
Book Buddies is a smaller version of the Big Brother-Big Sister program aimed at improving literacy among first and second graders and getting them excited about reading.
"In many ways we are the sole service providers of the Big Brother-Big Sister and Book Buddies programs," Quan said. "If there was no Dartmouth, these programs probably would not be offered to the community.This puts a lot of responsibility on us and we must maintain our commitment to these programs."
Other community service options provided through the Tucker Foundation include tutoring at local prisons and area schools, Students Fighting Hunger, child care and North Country Weekend, a program through which children from Boston can escape the city and come to Hanover.
The Tucker Foundation also coaches two Special Olympics teams that it hopes to begin training with the onset of warmer weather. Throughout the colder months, volunteers spend time bowling and playing basketball with their teams.
Through Tucker Fellowships, students can volunteer during their leave terms throughout the country and around the world.
"The fellowships are geared at allowing students to learn, but they are not tied down to academics, classes, and papers," Quan said.
The program is small and flexible and allows students to come up with their own ideas and explore different volunteer options.
In the past, students have volunteered at schools in Jersey City, an AIDS organization in Boston, missionaries and charities in Haiti, women's centers in Costa Rica, schools in Bolivia and the Kicking Horse Center in Montana, a community center for Native Americans who are below the poverty line.
"Students can come in with their own ideas, and we can mold a project out of it," Quan said.
The Tucker Foundation strives at providing a certain ethic of service, according to Quan. "We don't want to be patronizing; rather we want students to understand that they are members of a community and can do concrete things," he said.
Quan suggested that students interested in volunteering come look at the brochure rack at the Tucker Foundation.Then, they can either speak directly with him or attend an informational meeting.
"Students can come by and talk about what interests them and what skills they want to attain," Quan said. "Volunteering is a great way to test out skills for a career.For example, if you wanted to become a clinical psychologist, you could work at a crisis center."
The Tucker Foundation tries to place students in programs where they can explore different issues that interest them, such as health care, education, the elderly, literacy, child care or women's issues.
Quan said he hopes the community service students do through the Tucker Foundation will go beyond the mere act of volunteering.
"We want students to think about the volunteer work they do in a larger sense -- we don't want them to just do it, get out and leave," he said.
"We should be working in community service as a means of attacking root problems," he said. "That's is what we are trying to promote at Tucker, thinking and reflection."