Smith College

Community Initiatives

The Jandon Center engages faculty, students, and community partners on social-change projects that tackle community-driven goals. 

Through experiential learning and scholarship, students build essential capacities in critical thinking while providing significant leadership on urgent, complex issues facing communities and society.

We partner with over 40 local and global organizations supporting K-12 outreach, food and housing security, refugee and immigration, public health, arts and culture, climate advocacy, incarceration, and more. To learn more about our partners, check out this interactive map of local organizations. To join us in this work, please make an appointment.

Three students in the field for Jandon Community Service Office
Two students using a skill saw.

Community Service Organization

The Community Service Organization (CSO) at the Jandon Center works to connect student volunteers with community partners to utilize students’ passions and dedication to strengthen the greater Northampton-Springfield community. The CSO facilitates both short- and long-term partnership placements, valuing our partners’ expertise in how to best serve the most pressing needs of our community.

For over 20 years, Smith students have worked as tutors and mentors, manual laborers, organizers, and more with local entities such as K–12 schools, the International Language Institute, Manna Soup Kitchen, Gardening in the Community, Hampshire County Jail and many others.

Smith Alliance for Justice & Equity

The Jandon Center is proud to announce the Smith Alliance for Justice & Equity (SAJE) Fellowship, a one-year experiential learning opportunity for Smith College students and community organizers to promote justice and equity in their communities. It involves coursework, community events, site visits and faculty/fellow research projects. 

To learn more about the SAJE Fellowship, please contact Nancy Zigler, nzigler@smith.edu.

The Smith Alliance for Justice & Equity (SAJE) Fellowship is a one-year experiential learning opportunity for Smith College students and local community organizers to dive deeply into the theories and practices of impactful Community Organizing.

Beginning with a 4-credit colloquium on Collective Organizing, fellows develop a strong foundation for effective and impactful social change work. Through readings, reflection and case studies, fellows learn the theories and best practices of organizing.

The SAJE Fellowship is an unparalleled opportunity for Smith students and community organizers to learn, grow, and work together to solve some of the complex, urgent problems facing our world today.

SWG/CCX 245: Collective Organizing

This required course is designed to introduce key concepts, debates, and provocations that animate the world of organizing for social change. Through a course of study that includes local activists, students explore central organizing skills to build an awareness of power dynamics and learn activists’ tools to bring people together towards common goals.

A central aspect of this course is practicing community-based learning and research methods that ground the study with community-based partners. CCX 245 gives fellows the knowledge and skills they need to work alongside communities to develop and implement projects for change.

Site Visits

Varying semester to semester, site visits are a critical component of the SAJE Fellowship. By blending historical context with visiting and documenting locations, fellows learn from and work beside university affiliates and community organizers. Site visits explore a variety of locales close to home.

Community Based Learning & Research

The second semester allows fellows to use what they have learned in real world situations. Working alongside community members and organizers, fellows utilize best practices to engage in empathetic, impactful community-based projects and research.

Reflection Sessions

Reflection provides a crucial opportunity for fellows to link and synthesize classroom and experiential learning into a more complete understanding of the systems and assets that contribute to the health and success of communities and their members.

Math Resilience Project

The Pathway to MaRS (Math Resilient Students) project has kicked off its first year starting fall 2023! The Clark Science Center, the Department of Education and Child Study, and the Jandon Center for Community Engagement are collaborating with NASA to build math resiliency for STEM students at Smith College. These students lead and conduct outreach to 5th–8th graders through engaging in peer-to-peer mentorship. The Math Resilient Students project includes on-the-job training centered around mindfulness, community building, and playful math activities to foster a sense of being human in STEM and reduce math anxiety on the Smith College campus.

Please contact Charlotte Ljustina, Math Resilience Project Coordinator, for more information (cljustina@smith.edu)

Student working on a math equation at a blackboard

STEAM Outreach

The STEAM Team is composed of Smith undergraduates interested in increasing access to science, technology, engineering, art, and math at Smith College and the surrounding communities. Members have a passion for connecting STEAM-related content, inspirational activities, and experiential learning opportunities with community needs. 

There are a variety of single or multiple-session leadership opportunities throughout the academic year. These opportunities include the Robotics Outreach Initiative, science education outreach, and monthly art pop-ups in the Jandon Center. With guidance from the STEAM Outreach coordinator, the STEAM team collaborates to develop and facilitate lessons and activities. External partnerships include K-12 schools, after-school programs, local fairs, or community organizations that request STEAM experiential educational opportunities.

Learn more or get involved.

“As a member of the STEAM Team (a branch of the Jandon Center), I have been able to work with intelligent and considerate team members, and explore various interests in the sciences while also integrating my passion for the arts. Although college is very busy and academically charged, the Jandon Center at Smith makes it possible to become a part of the greater community and feel the benefits of activist work while also striving toward desirable academic goals.”
—STEAM Team Member Emma Robertson

The Crafting for Community (C4C) initiative at Jandon was designed to provide experiential engagement opportunities by crafting hand-made goods like afghans, blankets, hats, and scarves to give to organizations in need. C4C was recognized and awarded the 202 President’s Innovation Grant Award for Equity and Diversity at Smith College. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, C4C made nearly 1,500 masks, which were donated to campus essential workers, student residents, and people in need in the Northampton community and beyond.

Read the article.

Asli Ali
STEAM Outreach Coordinator 

Jandon Center for Community Engagement
Wright Hall
Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063

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Food Rescue Network

The Smith College Food Rescue Network was founded in the Spring of 2022 by Smith alumna Shastia Azulay. As a Jandon Activist Fellow, Shastia created a system where volunteers collect excess prepared food from the dining halls and deliver it to local community partners (Manna Community Kitchen and St. Edwards Church). Manna then distributes this food through community meals and home deliveries for free to community members experiencing food insecurity. This program currently runs out of the Jandon Center and is overseen by a staff coordinator and student advisory board. 40 student volunteers make FRN operations possible. 30,000 pounds of food rescued since September of 2022. 

In addition to food rescue, FRN supports academic endeavors by mentoring STRIDE and AEMES research scholars, collaborating with classes such as the Critical Design Thinking course, and by sharing information about food and climate justice. Last fall, we live-streamed a Food Rescue Conference to learn about food donor relationships, measuring impact, and college campus food recovery from several industry leaders. 

Follow us on instagram @smithfoodrescue for updates! You can contact the Food Rescue Network for more information.

Ask a Question or Get Involved
Two students and a staff member pose with food to be donated.

Student Spotlight

Mary Clare Michael ’26

“Through the Homework House tutoring program, I have been able to travel off campus to tutor fourth and fifth grade Holyoke students in reading and math skills. This work has been incredibly hands-on and rewarding. I have seen multiple students improve in skills and behavior during the school year, and have gained experience working in education and the nonprofit sector.”

Molly Morse-Belcher ’26

“The Mindich Fellowship was an amazing experience where I learned how much I love teaching and new strategies to empower myself when networking. The Next Play Project component of the fellowship taught me how to ask the right questions and build relationships with my mentor and alums in my field of interest through interviews I led. The fellowship also gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in the classroom, where I gained practical, in the field experience, allowing me to make informed decisions about my future goals.”

For Volunteers

Walking

If you don't drive there are several partnering agencies within walking distance or on a bus route. If you do walk, please be aware of your surroundings. Set up a time to talk with someone in the Jandon Center to find out about some of these opportunities.

Bus

If your community service activity is on a bus route, check the PVTA bus schedule.

Private Vehicle

The Jandon Center's transportation policy does not allow students to use their own private vehicle to drive other students or program participants for Jandon or CSO-sponsored community service projects.

Smith College Vans

Jandon Center can sponsor Facilities Vehicle reservations for one-time and recurring transportation needs, such as tutoring at a local school or attending an off-campus community event. Drivers must be Smith College Driver Certified, and Facilities requires 2 weeks notice. Please email Hannah Gates, hgates@smith.edu, to share details about your needs and learn about vehicle options.

Thank you for your commitment to community engagement! If you will be working with anyone under 18 years old, you must complete Smith's required Minor Safety Certification before beginning. This is in addition to any requirements from your hosting community partner, who often have additional policies in place. You must be cleared by both parties before any contact with minors begins.