Princeton University

Princeton offers all members of its community a wide range of opportunities for volunteerism, outreach, and work in public service. In addition to the programs listed below, individual graduate and undergraduate organizations, residential colleges, eating clubs, academic departments, and alumni classes promote service through various activities. Here is a sampling of some programs (listed in alphabetical order):

Community and Regional Affairs, Office of. Members of the Community and Regional Affairs staff serve as liaisons between the University and the communities in which it resides on a wide variety of local and regional issues. The Community and Regional Affairs staff participate in the creation of special events such as Communiversity, Community and Staff Day, parades, workshops, symposia, and other programs enjoyed by tens of thousands of campus and community members each year. The office partners with other campus and community organizations to provide service opportunities and initiatives. The Surplus Equipment Program, which helps charitable nonprofit organizations acquire furniture and equipment no longer used by the University, is coordinated by Community and Regional Affairs.

Community-Based Learning Initiative (CBLI). A collaborative effort of students, faculty, administrators, and community experts, CBLI facilitates community-driven research projects.

Community House. Community House was founded in 1969 by a group of undergraduate students and has a tradition of serving and supporting the educational, cultural, and recreational needs of underserved Princeton residents. Community House works directly with the Princeton Regional School District and other local nonprofit organizations to address educational achievement gaps. More than 100 students work throughout the school year to provide academic enrichment and social opportunities to low-income and minority children through such activities as tutoring, test preparation, and mentoring.

International Internship Program. Offering numerous summer internships abroad arranged especially for Princeton undergraduates, the program places students with international organizations, including private companies, volunteer programs, and many public interest and nongovernmental organizations.

Pace Center. Serving as Princeton University’s central resource for civic engagement, the Pace Center organizes and supports civic engagement activities including student group projects, public interest break trips, public service internships and fellowships, lectures and conferences, and educational outreach. It supports efforts by all members of the extended University community to identify and act on the problems of society. The Pace Center includes the Student Volunteers Council and Community House, which provide opportunities for direct service to the community through volunteer activities.

Princeton-Blairstown Center. This center, a not-for-profit support organization of the University, operates year-round experiential and adventure-based programs for underserved urban youth in New Jersey. With the help of student leaders, the 275-acre center runs summer programs that emphasize the development of individual and group responsibility, self-esteem, self-confidence, and emotional well-being in a community environment. The center collaborates with the Pace Center, Community House, the Student Volunteers Council, and the Outdoor Action program during freshman pre-orientation and seeks Princeton students for summer staff.

Princeton in service programs. Three independent nonprofits affiliated with the University—Princeton in Asia, Princeton in Africa, and Princeton in Latin America—place Princeton students and/or recent graduates in service internships and fellowships spanning four continents.

Princeton Internships in Civic Service (PICS). The program provides the opportunity for students to explore careers in public service through summer internships in the nonprofit sector, including group advocacy, legal services, public policy, health and social services, community development, education, sustainability and the environment, and the arts. PICS was established and is administered by the Class of 1969 Community Service Fund and is funded by the community service funds of the classes of 1969 and 1977, by members of the Class of 1970, and by alumni from a number of other classes.

Princeton Project 55. Princeton Project 55 is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing opportunities for alumni to improve society. By bringing alumni together with students and recent graduates, Project 55 provides many opportunities for building the commitment, leadership, and mentoring needed to solve critical issues affecting the public interest. The organization’s Public Interest Program places recent graduates in yearlong fellowships at nonprofit and community organizations across the country.

Princeton University Class of 1969 Community Service Fund. The fund established, administers, and provides major funding for the Princeton Internships in Civic Service program, and provides both financial and logistical support for service projects initiated by students and alumni. The fund contributed to the development of Princeton in Africa, Princeton in Latin America, the Princeton student chapter of Engineers Without Borders, and the Princeton University Summer Journalism Program.

Princeton University Preparatory Program (PUPP). Funded by the University and founded by members of its faculty and staff, PUPP is a three-year learning and enrichment program for Mercer County high school students who are educationally motivated and rich in intellectual curiosity but who are financially disadvantaged. PUPP is administered by the Program in Teacher Preparation.

Program in Teacher Preparation. In addition to training Princeton University students to be teachers, the Program in Teacher Preparation provides professional development programs for teachers in area schools. In addition, this program manages a high-school-student academic-enrichment program that allows students who have completed their course work and received permission from their respective high schools to take free courses in computer science, foreign languages, mathematics, and music.

Student Volunteers Council (SVC). Working with the strengths of the community, the student-run SVC has well-established relationships with more than 40 community partners. Students mentor and tutor children, restore houses, organize blood drives, serve food at food kitchens, and visit the elderly. SVC also organizes summer internships, service trips during academic breaks, and Community Action, a pre-orientation program for incoming freshmen.