In the Community

Twice a week since March, a group of Harvard College students has been meeting at Johnston Gate every Monday and Thursday to take the Red Line train from Harvard Square to Fields Corner in Dorchester, and then walk to the John Marshall Elementary School where they are part of the Marshall After-School (MAS) pilot program.

At a special reception on May 14, Cambridge School Volunteers (CSV) honored nearly 900 volunteers who served in grades K-12 of the Cambridge Public Schools (CPS) during the 2007-08 academic year. Together, the volunteers provided more than 50,000 hours of individualized academic services to Cambridge youth. The reception was held at the Gutman Library of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

The Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) held its seventh annual public service celebration on May 5 in the dining hall of Lowell House. A capacity crowd of 240, including PBHA public service leaders and volunteers, Harvard faculty and staff, and invited guests, attended the dinner program to celebrate the year in service, award postgraduate fellowships, honor graduating seniors, and recognize outstanding volunteers.

On April 16, seeding began with a healthy dose of “compost tea” — a liquid biological amendment — from the brewing vat located just past the entrance to the Yard across from the Science Center.

Today (April 10) the Arnold Arboretum launched the online component of its SHIP (Seed Herbarium Image Project) initiative, which utilizes high-resolution digital photography to document the morphology of seeds and associated fruit structures. The culmination of more than two years of planning and preparation, the project is a unique digital resource for scientists, horticulturists, and educators, particularly in propagation research and management of rare and endangered species.

What’s a 15-year-old boy, confined to a wheelchair with a fatal form of muscular dystrophy, to do on his summer vacation? Take a 7,000-mile road trip across the country with 11 friends. So thought Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) student Logan Smalley Ed.M. ’08, who organized the trek and then captured it in his 2007 documentary “Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life.”

In October 2007, a group of Harvard College students proposed a novel way to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Harvard’s birth — donate books. Their initial idea developed into the John Harvard Book Project, which ran from November through February and raised funds from students, faculty, and staff with the goal of purchasing books for local schools.

Each spring, Harvard Swim School provides swimming and diving lessons for children and adults. Held at Blodgett Pool, the Saturday morning lessons will commence April 5 and run through May 10.

The Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) along with the Harvard Club of Boston announced a new nonprofit management fellowship for graduating seniors of the College at a reception Monday (March 3). Beginning with the class of 2008, each year a graduating senior from Harvard College will have an opportunity to develop his or her nonprofit management knowledge and skills through a one-year internship with PBHA.

The Memorial Church will hold its third annual charity auction to benefit the grants committee on April 17. The event will be held at the Sheraton Commander Hotel (across from the Cambridge Common) beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The Memorial Church will hold its third annual charity auction to benefit the grants committee on April 17. The event will be held at the Sheraton Commander Hotel (across from the Cambridge Common) beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Harvard is already famous for its experts in languages, law, medicine, government, and literature. Now you can add heating and cooling.

The first flower of spring, the daffodil has long been a symbol of hope and renewal. It has also become a powerful tool in the American Cancer Society’s efforts to treat patients.

Harvard President Drew Faust met with public school superintendents and professional associates from Boston area schools on Feb. 8 to share ideas about, among other things, educational leadership, teaching and learning, and preparing students from preschool through college and beyond.

A plucky group of more than 20 young hockey players recently (Jan. 15) kicked up the ice at Bright Arena.

The first flower of spring, the daffodil has long been a symbol of hope and renewal. It has also become a powerful tool in the American Cancer Society’s efforts to treat patients.

A walking tour of Dublin and a pair of Red Sox tickets are just two of the items up for bid at the annual Summer Internship Fund auction scheduled for today (Dec. 6) at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG). The silent auction, featuring dozens of items, will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by a live auction.

More than 300 guests attended a gala event on Nov. 17 at the new WGBH offices on Guest Street in Brighton in honor of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Brighton and Allston communities.

This is the second in a series of Gazette articles highlighting some of the many initiatives and charities that Harvard affiliates can support through this month’s Community Gifts Through Harvard campaign. The Community Gifts campaign allows you to donate to a charity of your choice through cash, a check, or a payroll deduction.

This is the first in a series of Gazette articles highlighting some of the many initiatives and charities that Harvard affiliates can support through this month’s Community Gifts Through Harvard campaign. The Community Gifts campaign allows you to donate to a charity of your choice through cash, a check, or a payroll deduction. For more information or to pledge online, visit http://www.community.harvard.edu/communitygifts.

Distrigas of Massachusetts/SUEZ Energy Resources has announced its support as the lead corporate sponsor of Wild Wednesdays, a program for urban youth at the Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH).

Nonprofit organization Cultural Survival will celebrate 28 years of bringing native art and crafts to the University community with an upcoming holiday bazaar Nov. 24 and 25 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Cambridge College, 1000 Massachusetts Ave. The bazaar, which is being co-sponsored by Harvard, will feature unique products by indigenous artisans from Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Among the fair-trade items will be Afghan and Tibetan hand-knotted rugs, hand-woven rebosos (shawls), a selection of jewelry, clothing, art, and pottery, and decorative pieces such as carvings and masks, among other goods.

Few names are as universally known as Harvard, yet little is known about John Harvard. What is known is that the donation of his personal library to a fledgling Colonial college helped lay the foundation for the largest academic library in the world. In honor of the 400th anniversary of the University’s original benefactor’s birth and with the goal of supplying books to local schools, a group of students, in collaboration with Community Affairs is kicking off the John Harvard Book Project.

Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (KSG) is the recipient of a five-year $3.75 million donation from the Shell Exploration & Production Co., KSG Dean David T. Ellwood recently announced. The funds will be used to enhance and expand University research efforts on critical issues of energy policy.

The Office for Sponsored Programs is holding a blood drive Nov. 6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Holyoke Center (conference room 704) for the benefit of Mount Auburn Hospital.

This summer, Ming Thompson learned a few things about telling a story.

Elizabeth Dexter Hay, embryologist and educator at Harvard Medical School (HMS), died this past Aug. 20. She was 80 years old.

The dusty old grand dame of Harvard theater has gotten a new lease on life, and what was once known as the Hasty Pudding Theatre has been reborn as the New College Theatre, a state-of-the-art facility boasting the latest in technology, ambience, and creature comforts.

In her first official public appearance since her installation as Harvard’s 28th president, Drew Faust joined more than 700 Allston Brighton neighbors at the Allston Brighton Family Football Day Oct. 13 at Harvard Stadium.

The atmosphere was cheerful and upbeat as volunteers, young and old, from Harvard and beyond, gathered on a bright autumn morning last Saturday (Sept. 29) for what organizers and University officials hope will be the first in a long tradition of an annual University-wide Day of Service.