The Points of Light Foundation recently awarded the Dartmouth Partners in Community Service Internship Program an award recognizing its unique form of community volunteer work.
The Points of Light Foundation -- which boasts former President George Bush as its Honorary Chairman of the Board -- strives to "engage more people more effectively in volunteer community service to help solve serious social problems."
According to Mary Comeau, director of fellowships and internships at the College's Tucker Foundation, the DPCS program does just that.
"The mission of the DPCS program is to inspire Dartmouth students to join with Dartmouth alumni and their families in addressing some of the problems facing our society," she said.
Since it was established in 1995 by a group of graduates from the Class of 1959, DPCS has sent about 80 students on internships. Comeau said DPCS interns have worked in public health clinics, urban schools and homeless shelters with Dartmouth alumni as their mentors.
She said alumni are able to share their personal, professional and civic experience with the interns, while the student volunteers are able to volunteer and "inspire the alumni with their passion for service."
Comeau said the Daily Points of Light Award recognized DPCS's unique mentoring partnership aspect.
The Foundation heard of Dartmouth's program when DPCS applied for a grant about a year and a half ago.
DPCS received the award along with the top ten percent of more than 3,500 nominations considered by the organization.
Comeau said Tucker was not expecting the award, but they were happy to receive it, especially because of the program's success.
Christine Percheski '01, who was a former DPCS intern and is currently helping the program with administrative work and recruitment, said her experience in a Boston church during the summer of 1998 changed her outlook on urban poverty.
"I really got an insight into some of the causes and problems associated with urban poverty," Percheski said.
She added that her relationship with her DPCS mentor, the reverend of the church where she was working, helped her put her experiences into perspective and understand some of the complex issues that faced her throughout her term of service.
Both Percheski and Comeau said they were pleased that the DPCS program had won the Daily Point of Light Award.
"I think it's an excellent opportunity for DPCS to get some attention," Percheski said. She said publicity surrounding the award could draw more students and alumni to participate in the program.
As it is, Comeau said the DPCS program has doubled or tripled its number of interns every year since it was founded, a movement which she called "tremendous growth."
She hopes to recruit more Dartmouth alumni to participate in this program, either as individuals or as classes. She said the main financial sponsors of the program are the Classes of 1959 and 1990.
