Volunteering alive despite budget cuts

At the first Dwight Hall meeting of the year, the hall was packed--despite a $2,100 budget cut made by the University for the 1996-97 school year. Although the cutbacks have forced the Dwight Hall cabinet to work harder to raise money, the organization, with a 1996 membership of over 2,300 volunteers, does not seem shaken.

Dwight Hall

Built in 1842 as the Yale library, Dwight Hall now serves as the umbrella community service organization for Yale's 80 volunteer groups. The cuts, which represent a significant portion of Dwight Hall's budget, come at a time when 10 new volunteer groups have joined the organization's network and community service is at an all-time high at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

This year, in particular, "The executive committee [of Dwight Hall] has taken the initiative to reach out more into the community," Matt Gubens, JE '97 said. "This year we've been working with fraternities and sports teams that want one-day service projects in addition to coordinating the first orientation of the city that's ever been offerred to freshmen."

According to Dwight Hall cabinet member Sandra Lee, ES '97, the lack of funds could "affect the growth potential of the Yale volunteer community." The money, used for resources such as copy machines, publication notices, and transportation for programs involving children, will now have to be raised in the annual phone-athon.

Among the new programs being offerred by Dwight Hall is the Dwight Hall Internship program. In the past, most Dwight Hall programs, such as Tutoring In Elementary Schools (TIES) have focused on Yale undergrads tutoring New Haven elementary school youth in math and English. This year, supoorted by the federal Housing Urban Development Grant (HUD), which was awarded to various New Haven districts, Dwight Hall is expanding their tutoring programs. Through the Dwight Hall Internship Program, for example, approximately 15 to 20 students will be trained to be teaching assistants in local classrooms. These volunteers will work alongside public school teachers for approximately five hours a week in real classroom settings. "The internships are a good way for the University to share its resources with the New Haven community," Katie Morgan, DC '98, intern coordinator at Timothy Dwight Elementary school, said.

Before the school year even began, approximately 80 students from the class of 1999 participated in FOCUS, an intensive week-long community service orientation for sophomores. Participants of FOCUS returned to New Haven before classes started, because, as coordinator and FOCUS participant Stacey Atlas, JE '98, said, "It's great to come back early and devote your whole week to service and helping the community. The participants are always dedicated, energetic, and enthusiastic."

"FOCUS opened my eyes to New Haven," Kerry Fischer, JE '99, a participant who helped build community gardens in various New Haven neighborhoods this year, said. "I got to interact with the local residents and help the community. Through FOCUS, I have grown a new appreciation for New Haven."

Yale students such as Chi-Young Tschang, CC '97, organized an event called Cityscape. The goal of Cityscape is to break down pre-conceived notions of New Haven as a hostile and intimidating town by introducing freshman to the multi-faceted communities that make up their new home.

Cityscape students met for guided tours of city neighborhoods and the public housing projects along Dixwell Avenue while speakers addressed and explained issues which influence the political, educational, and economic dynamics of New Haven.

"I believe it's incredibly important to get to know the community in which you live, and Cityscape helped me become better acquainted with New Haven," Laurie Kenningon, BR '00, said. "Although we just scratched on the surface of the community service activities I can get involved in, it really gave me a sampling of the various forms of community service I can participate in while at Yale," Kenningon said.

Undergrads are not the only Yalies to get involved in their community. Students and faculty of the Yale School of Management (SOM) also got a head start on community service when they participated in the annual SOM Service Day on Sat., Sept. 14.

The Students for Responsible Business (SRB) sponsored the event, which involved projects and tasks organized by New Haven Parks, the New Haven Ecology Project, and the Elm Haven Revitalization Project. Enthusiastic SOM volunteers worked alongside local New Haven residents to help beautify public sites, such as East Rock Park, and to clear run-down, vacant lots.

According to Gubens, Dwight Hall now faces the "delightful challenge" of streamlining the community service programs so that it can focus on "quality, rather than quantity" in the Yale volunteer community.