While Dartmouth may be most famous for its academic reputation, it also boasts a strong network of spiritual, social justice and service-oriented organizations. Administered by the William Jewett Tucker Foundation, these organizations give students the opportunity to pursue volunteer work and internships in a global context.
Named after former College President William Jewett Tucker, the Tucker Foundation was founded in 1951 to support Dartmouth's religious community. Today, this mission has expanded to support over 25 affiliated religious groups, covering a wide range of faiths and sects.
Many organizations exist to represent various Christian sects, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Student Association, Christian Impact and the Orthodox Christian Fellowship.
The Aquinas House is among numerous prominent Christian groups under the umbrella of the Tucker Foundation. The center of Catholic faith on campus, Aquinas has its own chapel on Webster Avenue. It offers mass on Sundays and weekends, but is open to all students for support and social activities.
The Agape Christian Fellowship, another Christian organization, meets every Friday afternoon. The Fellowship's activities include weekly worship, bible study and retreats.
Non-Christian faiths are also represented at Dartmouth by numerous Tucker organizations. Al-Nur, a Muslim student organization, holds prayer every Friday and hosts frequent discussions and lectures about the Muslim world.
Hillel, a Jewish student organization, holds frequent events at the Roth Center for Jewish Life, including weekly dinners, cultural events and Torah readings.
Through the Tucker Foundation's Multi-Faith Council, religious groups can also work together to improve interfaith understanding and explore the greater role of faith in the world. The Multi-Faith council also plans events for the entire Dartmouth community to promote its mission of improving intercultural understanding.
The Tucker Foundation also coordinates student service organizations that operate on a local, national and international level. Students have the opportunity to contribute to a variety of different communities, from disadvantaged families in the Upper Valley to migrants in the Dominican Republic.
Each year, students provide roughly 40,000 hours of service to the Upper Valley through a variety of projects. Although assisted by Tucker Foundation staff, programs are managed and led by Dartmouth students. These local-based organizations tackle issues including education, food, shelter, health and mentoring.
DREAM, or Directing through Recreation, Education And Mentoring, allows students to mentor local children in subsidized housing communities. As part of this mentoring, students spend time individually with their "mentees," culminating in an end-of term trip to places such as Six Flags, the Franklin Park Zoo and the Boston Museum of Science.
Students interested in tutoring local children can participate in the America READS program. Open only to work-study students, America-READS pairs students with needy local elementary schools for an academic term or year, leading creative exercises and reading sessions.
In the Prison Project, volunteers tutor Windsor Correctional Facility inmates who are working towards their high school equivalency degrees. Volunteers can also teach lessons in sports or music to inmates in an effort to promote change among the prisoners.
Through the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a national organization that builds houses for disadvantaged families, students can contribute to many aspects of building a house, from fundraising to the actual construction.
The Dartmouth College Cancer Society, in cooperation with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, pairs volunteer students with local families who have been affected by cancer. Students aid families by helping with their daily activities, such as home maintenance.
The Tucker Foundation also sponsors group and individual service trips across the world. Students can choose to go on Alternative Spring Breaks, service trips led by Dartmouth students to the Dominican Republic as well as some of the most disadvantaged areas of the United States.
Students can also apply for Tucker Fellowships, which provide funding to students who want to pursue their own national or international service trip.
In the past, students have used funding from the Tucker Foundation to go to countries such as Cambodia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ethiopia and Peru, during which volunteers have assisted by improving local water supplies, teaching English and volunteering in local clinics.
