Our Community Service Learning partnerships reflect a range of communities, health, and social issues, as well as the diverse interests and skills of our students and faculty. School of Medicine students participate in these partnerships in a number of ways. Many of these partnerships are directly related to local food systems in our Tufts community. The Community Service Learning (CSL) site includes each one of these partnerships. Some programs place food at the center of their missions, while others aim to expand health literacy, which is essential to a properly functioning food system.
The following programs are currently listed on the CSL site. If you know one of these programs is no longer running or if you know of a CSL program that involves food systems not included here, please contact us!
| Jumbo’s Kitchen – In partnership with students from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, medical students run weekly cooking lessons on Friday afternoons at Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center’s After School Program. |
| Tufts Chinatown Wellness Initiative – Tufts Chinatown Wellness Initiative (TCWI) is an interprofessional project of medical, dental, and nutrition students which promotes health literacy and wellness through monthly interactive seminars in partnership with the Asian Community Development Corporation. The workshops reflect the health interests and concerns of residents of the local housing communities and provide students with teaching experience in English as well as Mandarin and Cantonese. |
| Entre Mujeres – In partnership with La Alianza Hispana, a nonprofit community center serving the Latino community of Greater Boston, Entre Mujeres facilitates culturally and linguistically appropriate wellness workshops on topics of interest to the women in the group. Medical students design and lead workshops and activities in Spanish twice per month for young mothers and for older women. |
| Healthcare Alliance for the Homeless – Students involved with the Health Care Alliance for the Homeless (HAH) club address homeless health in a variety of ways. In partnership with Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program’s Foot Care Clinic at St. Francis House, medical students provide basic foot care, treating a chronic yet often overlooked problem faced by individuals experiencing homelessness. Students are also involved with BHCHP’s monthly Saturday program for homeless women, they volunteer at other homeless-serving organizations throughout Greater Boston, and they organize an annual Justice for the Homeless Month featuring panel and guest speaker events. |
| Phoenix Project – Through the Phoenix Project, medical students lead weekly discussion-based health workshops covering a wide range of social and health topics at the South Bay House of Correction. Read more about The Phoenix Project here. |
| Teens Empowerment, Education, Exercise, and Nutrition- Under the direction of pediatrician Dr. Shirley Gonzalez, students in the Teens, Empowerment, Education, Exercise, and Nutrition (TEEEN®) program develop and lead fitness and nutrition workouts with kids, teens, and their families. |
| Passamaquoddy-Tufts Partnership – The goal of the Passamaquoddy-Tufts Partnership is to establish a long-term relationship with the Pleasant Point Reservation in Maine to support the health and education needs identified by the tribe while also promoting a health careers pipeline for children at the Beatrice Rafferty School. This includes visits to Pleasant Point to participate in Health Fairs and provide educational programming at the school, a long-distance mentoring program with the kids, and an annual school field trip to the School of Medicine. |