1. EXPANSION- Within the last two months, DPCS has signed on two new classes which have adopted this program as their class project. These two classes are 1967 and 1979. In fact, the Class of '67 will have its first designated intern during the Winter term 2000-2001. This intern will be mentored by a member of the Class of '67. Joining with the Class of '90, this now brings to three the number of classes, other than the Class of '59, which have jumped on the DPCS bandwagon.

2. GROWTH- Twelve interns have been accepted for the 2000-2001 Winter term. This is by far the largest representation yet for this particular term and compares to only two interns last winter. The total number of interns sponsored by DPCS over the last year, including the up-coming Winter term, will grow to 32. Also, student inquiries already received about opportunities for next summer are well ahead of last year.

3.VISIONING- We are working on a long-range vision statement for DPCS that will leverage the experience and strength of the organization to make it even more meaningful and effective among Dartmouth undergraduates, alumni mentors and supporters, and community service organizations across the country.

We had our first meeting in October. A draft will be completed by the end of November for review by all interested constituencies, including the College administration, with expected improvements to the vision as we proceed. All involved are very excited about a DPCS with an expanding and more impactful future.

Background

There is a growing impulse among today's College students to participate in community service and social action needs, but there is often a lack of understanding as to how they can do so. A group of Dartmouth '59 classmates -- realizing this, and that it was time in their lives (at age 57) to give something meaningful back to society by becoming more personally involved in some form of public service work themselves -- decided to provide the vehicle for these students to achieve their desires and thus broaden their educational experience while at Dartmouth.

The Program

The vehicle for mobilizing Dartmouth alumni and students to participate in this public service initiative became known as Dartmouth Partners in Community Service (DPCS). This initiative was patterned after a very successful program established at Princeton in 1990 by the Class of '55. The concept consists of joint alumni/student/College partnerships working on behalf of community service organizations as follows:

• Alumni identify worthy community service organizations (CSOs) in their local towns and volunteer to serve as "mentors" for participating Dartmouth students. These internship opportunities are then publicized and listed in the Tucker offices on campus. Tucker was selected as the College partner because it already administers a set of internship programs for Dartmouth students and their operational experience and counsel was valuable.
• Student volunteers select a desired internship with the help of Tucker personnel, are screened for suitability by a DPCS interviewing committee, are then matched with the corresponding mentors for those internships selected, and then serve as paid interns in the local CSOs during their off-terms from the College.

An organizing group of volunteer Dartmouth '59s, called the DPCS Alumni Board, was set up at the outset to coordinate all the start-up activities necessary to get the program operational, working in collaboration with the Tucker Foundation office at Dartmouth. Dartmouth Partners in Community Service was born!

The DPCS Mission

The first thing the DPCS Alumni Board did was to develop a Mission Statement:

To inspire Dartmouth students to join with Dartmouth alumni and their families in addressing problems facing our society.

The Launch of the DPCS Program

It was decided to gain early operational experience with two internships, done in the summer of '94. With that pilot experience, the project was officially launched at our 35th Reunion in June '95, when several more internships were implemented.

From the beginning the role of the DPCS Alumni Board was as the "enabling agent" -- the catalyst for bringing the parties together to get the program successfully and broadly launched. This involved Board members handling publicity, student/mentor/CSO recruitment and screening, raising the funds to support the program, and working out the logistical administration of the program with the officials at Tucker and the College.

It was agreed that the initial source of mentors, CSOs, and funds would be from and through the Class of 1959. This would launch the program as an exciting Class project, it would make it more manageable, and it would give the Board valuable early experience in building a broad-based project. The long-term goal, however, was also reaffirmed: to build a project that is ambitious, enduring, and unifying to all alumni, spouses, students, and CSOs who participate.

It was also decided to focus initial DPCS internships primarily on Dartmouth Freshmen and Seniors in order to be sure it would not be in direct competition with the existing Tucker internship programs which consist mostly of Sophomores and Juniors.

Summer '96 represented the first full-term to demonstrate the intrinsic appeal and value of the DPCS project. Thirteen Dartmouth students served in Internships with alumni mentors from Boston to Alaska. Over $15,000 was raised from '59 classmates to fund the program. Most important, the feedback from the students was superb.

The Board also sought the support of other organizations. In early 1995 the former U.S. Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, took a personal interest in the DPCS program. Dr. Koop felt DPCS complemented his Institute's community service programs. Therefore, he has become involved in helping us publicize the DPCS program.

Expansion of the DPCS Program

Buoyed by the successful placement of over 35 internships for undergraduates, last year the Board decided to move from the initial '59 pilot stage to one involving all alumni(ae) via Dartmouth Class and Club organizations. Such an expanded partnership was deemed essential to accelerate the achievement of the original vision of the program, which was to make it available to a much broader group of Dartmouth students -- indeed, someday a part of every student's Dartmouth experience -- and consequently to enhance the total impact of the program on America's community service organizations. It was also recognized that the expanded DPCS program would represent the very first collaborative and enduring partnership among all Dartmouth alumni(ae), young and old, in a common service endeavor. In this way, a truly unifying and broad-based DPCS partnership was formed.

A steering group of the Board developed a Strategic Plan that addressed issues of managing, funding, and expanding the program into the future in a progressive, step-by-step manner. To implement the Plan, the Board realized it needed to (1) move from an entirely volunteer operation at Tucker to one with a paid staff (2) move from a program primarily aimed at Freshmen and Seniors in the summer term to one open to all four classes, all terms; and (3) greatly expand the number and geographic diversity of the CSO internship opportunities. Therefore, decisions were taken with Scott Brown, Tucker's dean at the time, to hire Mary Comeau as Director of DPCS Internships and Tucker Fellowships and to open participation in the program to all Darmouth students during all four terms.

The Board also decided that, in the spirit of the new partnership involving the wider alumni constituency, each alumni Class and Club partner -- including the Class of '59 -- would be encouraged to constribute to the "start-up" organizational fund, with the ongoing funding of internship stipends coming from annual, individual gifts. Importantly, other Classes and Clubs would have the opportunity to be represented on our Alumni Board. Each Class or Club would develop CSO internship opportunities, and mentors, from its own constituency. Although the overall DPCS partnership would be a collective undertaking, each participating constituency could consider its internships filled as being designated and sponsored by their individual Class or Club. Therefore, there would be freedom for Classes and Clubs to build the interest and spirit of their own constituencies by supporting their own internships within the overall DPCS program. This could also include inviting their student interns to their Class or Club meetings, getting more involved as a group with a particular CSO, etc. Through the joint financial synergy of all participants, the overall program could expand with paid, professional DPCS staff at Tucker.