Get to Know Your New Community!

The Lewiston/Auburn community is an amazing place to spend your time at Bates and we’re lucky to have so many community-engaged opportunities for our students to partake in.

Harward Center partnerships meet community needs…

Civic engagement is one of the core values at Bates.  The Harward Center for Community Partnerships offers many ways to become involved—community-engaged learning, volunteerism, community work-study, grant-funded summer work—through a wide variety of opportunities such as mentoring, local sports clinics, tutoring, gardening, working with the elderly, and many more.

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…enhance academic work…

Students can engage with the community through first-year seminars, coursework, research, and thesis.  An example of this work is the capstone project in the Environmental Studies program.  This project integrates varied student interests, passions, and experiences around a community need, most recently addressing issues relating to the Androscoggin River. When considering classes, keep an eye out for the “Community-Engaged Learning” attribute within the Garnet Gateway. There is also financial support for academically-related community-engaged projects that students wish to pursue. Learn more here.

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…and develop student leaders…

The Harward Center offers two student leadership programs.  The Bonner Leader Program is a four-year service and training program.  Students explore a range of service opportunities and eventually commit to a leadership role with an organization.  Community Outreach Fellows serve for one year.  They work with community organizations to coordinate programs and recruit volunteers.  Both programs offer financial and programmatic support, as well as lots of hands-on experience.

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