Community Initiatives

There are many ways Harvard’s faculty, students, and staff contribute to the local community in carrying out the University’s mission of teaching, research, and learning. The diversity of Harvard’s programs, services, and partnerships is the result of years of collaboration between the University and its neighbors.

Harvard-Allston Public Realm Flexible Fund

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Smith Field Groundbreaking

The Harvard Allston Public Realm Flexible Fund supports projects that enhance the public realm and for which public sources of financing may be unavailable or inadequate. Projects may include improvements in public parks and open space, neighborhood beautification, streetscape improvements, public safety projects, and public art, including functional art such as benches or bike racks.

Science Brought to Life

MedScience

MedScience

MEDscience is an innovative high school science curriculum that provides Boston public school students with the opportunity to bring science to life through hands-on mock clinical cases and classroom lessons conducted at Harvard Medical School (HMS) labs. The program, which launched in 2005 and is currently in 11 Boston schools, is a semester-long high school biology curriculum focused on the anatomy and physiology of seven human organ systems. Each school’s science teacher integrates a MEDscience-designed curriculum into his or her classroom instruction. Once a week, the class travels to the MEDscience Simulation Lab at HMS to apply classroom learning to patient care.

Read more, and watch a video, about the MEDscience program in the Harvard Gazette.

Programs for Cambridge, Boston, and beyond

Crimson Summer Academy

Crimson Summer Academy

The Crimson Summer Academy is a rigorous enrichment program that provides academically talented high school students with skills and financial support to thrive and excel in college. To date, 94 percent of graduates complete college in four years.

Arboretum

Arnold Arboretum

A living museum containing over 14,000 trees collected during the past century from Asia, Europe, and North America, the Arnold Arboretum is one of Boston’s largest green spaces and draws approximately 250,000 visitors each year.

Community Benefits

Harvard Ed Portal

Created in 2008, the Harvard Ed Portal brings the Harvard and Allston-Brighton communities together through learning, exploring ideas, and embracing diversity of participants.

Phillips Brooks House Association

A student-run, community-based, nonprofit organization offering more than 80 programs that serve thousands of low-income individuals in Greater Boston.

Discover More

Observatory Nights

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics hosts a variety of free programs for the public, including Observatory Nights held on the third Thursday of the month.

Smith Field

Smith Field Groundbreaking

In October 2017, Harvard's Drew Faust and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh broke ground on the renovation of the historic William F. Smith Field in Allston. The renovation will include improvements to the playground and sports fields, new walking paths, a splash pond, a street hockey court, and a spacious amphitheater where performances can be staged year-round.

The Family Van

The Family Van

In fiscal year 2017, the Harvard Medical School’s Family Van reached more than 1,600 Boston residents during more than 3,100 separate visits. Over the past five years, the program has saved $2.8 million in avoided emergency room costs.

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