Dwight Hall at Yale

Narcan Certification Course: SSDP x YEMS
2023-04-17 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York)
Join Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP @Yale) and Yale EMS for a course on how and when to use Narcanin in the Dwight Hall Lovett Common Room! Food and drinks provided.

Register here!

YHHAP Fast Spring 2023 Fundraiser
2023-04-15 12:00
The YHHAP Fast is the largest student-run fundraiser on Yale’s campus. Once every semester over 25% of Yale’s student body donates their Yale Dining meal swipes for the day of the Fast. This year, the Fast will be held on April 15, 2023. It will be fundraising to support 4 New Haven organizations doing critical on-the-ground work to alleviate food and housing insecurity: New Reach, NICE Center, Project Access, and Sunrise Cafe.

For those who are interested in supporting the fundraiser, check out how you can donate your meal swipes.

Fundraising page: YHHAP Virtual Fast

Venmo: @YHHAP

Synapse
2023-04-08 09:00 - 13:00
Synapse and the Yale Science Magazine are excited to announce that Science on Saturdays is back, and we’re looking for volunteers! Our first post-pandemic outreach event is scheduled for Saturday, April 8, from 9 am to 1 pm. The featured speaker will be Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist from the Yale School of Public Health, who will talk about “How We Use Science to Protect People from Epidemics.”

This award-winning lecture series is aimed at middle school students and their families, bringing the excitement of research and the passion of Yale scientists to the New Haven community. Each event involves a lecture by a Yale professor and hands-on science demonstrations.

We are expecting as many as 500+ students, children, and family members to attend. Volunteers will be helping to run demos, assist the keynote speaker, direct families, and ensure that Science on Saturdays runs as smoothly as possible.

This is a great (and fun!) way to get more involved with the greater New Haven Science Community. There will be food and t-shirts provided! If interested, Please fill out this form by April 5th 11:59 pm! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to yalescientifc@yale.edu.

"It's Our Time: Every Generation is Called to Build a Movement" with Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II
2023-04-04 18:00
Register here!

The Dwight Hall Jane and William E. Curran ’49 Distinguished Mentor Program presents:

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, social justice activist, pastor, and professor of the practice at Yale, delivers a moral call to action at Yale College.

As this year’s Curran Distinguished Mentor, Rev. Barber will speak to Yale College students about the transformative power of collective action and movement building and the positive impact of an intergenerational approach to the fight for justice.

Rev. Barber is the Founding Director of the new Center for Public Theology & Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, President of Repairers of the Breach, and Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.

Join this public address hosted by Dwight Hall at Yale on Tuesday, April 4th, at 6 PM EDT. The topic of his address is “It’s Our Time: Every Generation Is Called To Build A Movement.”

Over the past few decades, our nation has experienced the rollback of the human rights and civil rights won by social justice movements throughout our history. The stagnation of wages, rapid climate change, the erasure of voting rights protections, and the lack of an affordable healthcare system amid a global pandemic are only a few of the issues challenging our communities. Building a diverse social justice movement rooted in a moral framework is critical to transforming our communities and the country. In a world that feels increasingly isolated, a moral fusion movement calls us to come together across differences, race, culture, religion, sexuality, gender-identify, age, and more, to organize and mobilize around a moral policy agenda that prioritizes love, truth, and justice.

April 4th, a solemn day, also marks the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who, at the time of his untimely death, was organizing with the National Welfare Rights Organization, worker’s rights movement, women’s rights movement, religious leaders, and people of all races to launch the Poor People’s Campaign to fight poverty in the U.S. and ensure basic economic and human rights. More than 50 years later, the fight continues.

This event coincides with the launch of the Center for Public Theology & Public Policy at the Yale Divinity School. The Center’s mission is to prepare a new generation of moral leaders to be active participants in creating a just society using the academic, practical, and research tools of past and present social justice movements. Learn more at theologyandpolicy.yale.edu.

A limited amount of in-person seating is available for this event in the Dwight Hall Chapel. Students may register using Yale Connect. Reception to follow in the Dwight Hall Common Room immediately following the event, including halal options for iftar.

A waiting list will be maintained for this event.

All are welcome to register for the Zoom broadcast of the event.

Interested students may also register for a Pauli Murray College Tea with Reverend Barber on April 6th. For more news about this and other Launch Week events, please visit this site.

Visitors must comply with the Yale COVID 19 visitor policy.

About Bishop William J. Barber II

Bishop William J. Barber II, DMin, is a Professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Public Policy and Founding Director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School. He serves as President of Repairers of the Breach, Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival, and has been Pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Goldsboro, NC, for the past 29 years.

Bishop Barber is the architect of the Forward Together Moral Movement that gained national acclaim in 2013 with its Moral Monday protests at the North Carolina General Assembly. In 2015, he established Repairers of the Breach to train communities in moral movement building through the Moral Political Organizing Leadership Institute and Summit Trainings (MPOLIS).

Bishop Barber, a highly sought-after speaker, has given keynote addresses at hundreds of national and state conferences, including the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Bishop Barber is regularly featured in media outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Nation magazine. He was named one of the 2019 recipients of the North Carolina Award, the state’s highest civilian honor. He is also a 2018 MacArthur Foundation Genius Award recipient.

About the Curran Distinguished Mentor Program

Dwight Hall at Yale’s Jane and William E. Curran ’49 Distinguished Mentor program was established with a gift from William Curran ’49 in memory of his wife, Jane. The program recognizes leaders who have made remarkable contributions in public service and toward social justice and invites them to serve as mentors to Yale University students by sharing their expertise, experience, and insights.

The program aims to:

Provide students with access to a role model who embodies Dwight Hall’s mission in their professional life.

Leverage Dwight Hall’s prominent position as an institution on campus that advances service and justice to call attention to inspirational social justice leaders.

Convene diverse constituencies from the University, alumni, and New Haven communities to encourage a collective call to action towards societal change on an issue of common interest.

Previous Curran Distinguished Mentors include:

Dr. Elizabeth Alexander ’84

President of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Kurt Schmoke ’71

President of the University of Baltimore, and former Mayor of Baltimore, and former Dean of Howard University School of Law

Frances Beinecke ’71 ’74 M.F.S.

former President of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

John E. Pepper, Jr. ’60

former CEO of Proctor & Gamble and co-chair of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Kevin Salwen

Author

The Honorable Shirley Sagawa

CEO of Service Year Alliance, Architect of AmeriCorps

J.B. Schramm ’86

Founder of College Summit

Eric Liu ’90

CEO of Citizens University

Catherine Margaret Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, GCMG, PC,

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and First Vice President of the European Commission in the Barroso Commission from 2009 to 2014.

Dorothy Porter ’86 and Rev. Canon Nicholas ’86 ’94 M.DIV.

founders of Jerusalem Peacebuilders

Stephen Black ’97 J.D.

former Director of the Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility at The University of Alabama and Founder of Impact America

Dr. David L. Warren ’70 M.DIV., ’70 M.U.S.

former President of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities

Office Hours and Workshop with Summer Fellows Student Coordinator
2023-03-29 19:00 - 20:00, 2023-03-06 19:00 - 20:00 | Dwight Hall at Yale, 67 High St, New Haven, CT, 06511, United States
Thinking of working in the social sector this summer? Not sure where to start? Meet with the Dwight Hall Summer Fellows Student Coordinator before applications are due!

If you would like to meet with the Student Coordinator individually, sign up for a slot here.

If you would like to meet with a Dwight Hall staff member individually, sign up for a slot here.

View the 2023 Dwight Hall Summer Fellows application and guidance here.

Endeavor Global Coffee Chats: World’s Leading Community of High-Impact Entrepreneurs
2023-03-27 14:45 - 17:00
This coffee chat with our current Entrepreneur Selection Associate, Carlos Romero Jantacomma who graduated from Yale, class of 2022!

Any questions regarding Endeavor, VC, entrepreneurship and career opportunities are welcome.

This is an in person coffee chat at Maison Mathis, 304 Elm St. on March 27th, 2:45 PM – 5:00 PM

Endeavor is the world’s leading community of high-impact entrepreneurs.

Founded in 1997, Endeavor is a global organization with a mission to unlock the transformational power of entrepreneurship by selecting, supporting, and investing in the world’s top founders. Today, Endeavor’s network spans nearly 40 countries and supports more than 2,000 entrepreneurs, whose companies generate combined revenues of over $28 billion US, have created more than 3.9 million jobs, and, in 2020, raised over $4 billion US in capital. Endeavor’s unique entrepreneur-first model and network of trust provide a platform for founders to dream big, scale up, and pay it forward to the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Visit us at: endeavor.org

For more information, contact:Lian VegaSenior Associate, Peoplelian.vega@endeavor.org

Rebellious Lawyering Conference at Yale Law School
2023-03-11 09:00 - 20:00
Registration is now open here for the March 11th event.

The Rebellious Lawyering conference brings together practitioners, law students, and community activists from around the country to discuss innovative, progressive approaches to law and social change. The conference, grounded in the spirit of Gerald Lopez’s Rebellious Lawyering, seeks to build a community of law students, practitioners, and activists seeking to work in the service of social change movements and to challenge hierarchies of race, wealth, gender, and expertise within legal practice and education.

This year’s conference will be a smaller version of the Rebellious Lawyering conferences of the past. As we re-ground and organize around this important, nurturing tradition, we are deeply grateful to you for being a part of the Rebellious Lawyering community and for sharing your time, knowledge, and reflections with us.

New Haven Childcare Rally on the Green
2023-03-08 08:00 - 09:00
Location: New Haven Green: Across the City Hall, 165 Church St. New Haven, CT

On the morning of Wednesday, March 8, there will be a big rally and sing-a-long taking place on the New Haven Green from 8:00-9:00am, as a follow-up to last year’s Morning Without Child Care, which was very successful in pushing for early childhood funding in this year’s state budget. This year’s rally is being planned by Child Care for Connecticut’s Future, which is a coalition of parents, providers, and advocates working to secure strong, long-term investments in our state’s early learning system, and it is one of several rallies happening around the state on that day. March 8 is also International Women’s Day, which is significant since the vast majority of childcare workers are women.

Making it Plain: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and The Stand for Justice (The 2023 Dr. Betty Shabazz & Malcolm X Memorial Lecture)
2023-03-06 18:30 - 21:00
Register here: https://cglink.me/2dA/r2040582

Before Kaepernick, there was rising basketball star Abdul-Rauf. More than two decades after leaving the NBA for his stand against racial injustice and oppression, he continues to teach the necessity of protest. Join us for this special conversation about faith, sports, and the courage to speak out. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf is the 2023 Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X Memorial Lecturer.

The event is organized by Dwight Hall at Yale’s Muslim Leadership Lab, with the Yale Chaplain’s Office and the Yale Divinity School Office of Diversity Equity Inclusion & Belonging.

https://conferencesandevents.yale.edu/campus/venues/sheffield-sterling-strathcona-hall-0

GOD OVER GAME: Faith, Sports and the Fight for Justice - YDS Breakfast with Activist & Former NBA Star Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
2023-03-06 08:00 - 09:00
Register here: https://cglink.me/2dA/r2045040

Before Kaepernick, there was basketball star Abdul-Rauf.

More than two decades after leaving the NBA for his stand against racial injustice and oppression, he continues to teach the necessity of protest.

Join us for this special breakfast conversation hosted by the YDS’s Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging about faith, sports, and the courage to speak out.

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf is the 2023 Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X Memorial Lecturer. The event is organized by Yale Divinity School Office of Diversity Equity Inclusion & Belonging, Dwight Hall at Yale’s Muslim Leadership Lab, with the Yale Chaplain’s Office.

Timeless: Telling Our Neighborhood Stories; Chapter 1: Constance Baker Motley
2023-03-04 13:00 - 16:00
All are welcome and no registration is required.

This new exhibit is organized by Frank Mitchell with Constance Royster and showcases vital stories of the Q House, Dixwell, Judge Motley, community memory, and family archives.

This Q House exhibit follows on and draws inspiration from the magnificent exhibit last spring 2022, Constance Baker Motley: Lady of the Law, originated by Jordan Jefferson, Marinda Monfilston, and Fallon Thomas and curated with Kathryn James at the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale.

Timeless: Telling Our Neighborhood Stories; Chapter 1: Constance Baker Motley will also be a catalyst for generating and sharing more stories of the Q House, which celebrates next year the centennial of its original opening in 1924.

The Q House and its History Committee will be posting more soon about the times the exhibit will be open to the public over the coming months, as well as related programming.

Volunteer at the Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop - Spring 2023 Service Series
2023-03-03 12:45 - 15:45
https://cglink.me/2dA/r1997767

Support education and recreational programs at this treasured historic site!

Volunteers will meet at Dwight Hall promptly at 12:45pm and travel together via CT Transit bus to the site.

Volunteers will work indoors and outdoors to prepare and package STEAM learning kits used in schools across Connecticut and to maintain trails and natural areas surrounding the Museum at the edge of East Rock Park.

Volunteers must wear close-toed shoes and hair must be tied up.

About Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop:The Museum preserves the site on which Eli Whitney constructed the first American factory in 1798. Today, it is a dynamic community hub providing workshops, apprenticeship opportunities, exhibits, and recreational opportunities for the public.

The Current State of Waste and Race in North Carolina - Journeys Toward Justice
2023-03-02 12:00
Hosted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillFeaturing Professor Courtney WoodsRSVP at https://heellife.unc.edu/event/8650771.

This session examines the historical and contemporary impacts that solid waste facilities have on communities of color in North Carolina and reflect on the 40-year history of environmental justice organizing around waste facilities in the United States. Courtney Woods is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she leads the Environmental Justice Action Research Clinic, which provides technical assistance for residents facing urgent environmental health threats. Woods also is a founding member of Earthseed Land Collective.

Carolina Engagement Week 2023 is your chance to explore the impact of community-driven partnerships powered by state and local community leaders and Carolina researchers. By attending one or more sessions, you’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of the methods and collaborative approaches that are working effectively throughout different parts of North Carolina. You can also identify new opportunities to engage in community initiatives around the state designed to create social and economic impact. This event is open to the public and is part of the Journeys Toward Justice series, a multi-college collaborative series spotlighting changemakers across the country who are driving justice and equity forward.

Volunteer on the Green!
2023-02-26 13:00 - 15:00
https://cglink.me/2dA/r2050960

Serve Food with Community for the Unhoused Community.In partnership with Chapel on the Green, Dwight Hall is seeking 5-7 volunteers to serve food to the housing insecure and unhoused members of the New Haven Green. This is a great opportunity to support food justice pathways in New Haven and connect more deeply with those experiencing housing and food insecurity in our local community.

Meet @ Dwight Hall at 1:00 pm. February 26th.

Contact Kaley Casenhiser | Dwight Hall Magee Fellow kaley.casenhiser@yale.edu

Cook for Chapel on the Green!
2023-02-25 12:30 - 15:30
https://cglink.me/2dA/r2049996

Share love through food this February.

Are you passionate about community engagement and food justice?

Dwight Hall is seeking 5-7 volunteers to menu-plan and cook a meal for the un-housed and housing insecure inhabitants of the New Haven Green. Interested? Please register here.

Contact Kaley Casenhiser | Dwight Hall Magee Fellow kaley.casenhiser@yale.edu

Advocating for Refugees in our Community: Civic Allyship Workshop featuring IRIS
2023-02-23 17:30 - 19:00 | Dwight Hall at Yale Common Room, 67 High Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511
Dwight Hall Civic Allyship workshop featuring IRIS: Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services. This workshop will feature an overview of IRIS’s programs and discuss the experience of refugee families resettling in the United States. Attendees will also hear about upcoming advocacy opportunities including a virtual border crossing.

This hybrid event is open to the public. Visitors to campus must comply with Yale COVID-19 Visitor Policy as described at: https://covid19.yale.edu/visitors-policy. The zoom event is part of the Journeys Toward Justice series, a multi-college collaboration spotlighting changemakers across the country who are driving justice and equity forward. Please register here to attend virtually.

About IRIS:

Refugee families who arrive from overseas come to the U.S. with virtually no material possessions. They have lost homes, friends, family, country, culture, and jobs. Most do not speak any English. They have no income, and many are victims of trauma, with physical or mental health needs. As great as their initial needs are, their potential to enrich our community is even greater.

Asylum seekers, asylees, and other immigrant families who seek assistance stabilizing their family situation often have many of the same needs as refugees coming from overseas. However, since they are already in the U.S., it is often the case that they have some limited resources or extended support network that can be built upon with the help of IRIS.

IRIS provides targeted wrap-around services for all clients, using a strength-based assessment model, that offers long-term support for successful integration.

Debra Riding brings over 3 decades of experience in New Haven’s public, charter, and independent schools to her role as Director of Education at IRIS. As an educator, she prioritizes cross-cultural understanding, experiential learning, student empowerment, and social justice. Debra has degrees from Yale and Quinnipiac.

Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and resettled in New Haven in 2016, Hossna Samadi has passionately devoted the past five years to advocating for and serving refugees and immigrants in New Haven in many different capacities. Having experienced the challenges of being a refugee firsthand, she is passionate about supporting, assisting and amplifying their voices, particularly Afghan women. In her volunteer work with Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS), she serves as a member of the Cultural Companion Ally Team and as an Ambassador, speaking to a wide range of audiences. Samadi is the co-founder of the Collective for Refugee and Immigrant Women’s Wellbeing, whose grant-sponsored pilot project partners with Yale University’s Program on Recovery and Health in the Community. She is a Program Associate at Sanctuary Kitchen by CitySeed.

About the Dwight Hall Civic Allyship Initiative:

Dwight Hall’s Civic Allyship Initiative is elevating the existing work of community organizers in New Haven and beyond. The program confronts complex social challenges, convening criminal justice advocates, grassroots activists, currently and formerly incarcerated people, students, and professors in equitable relationships through workshops, trainings, and research. Together, these allies are utilizing new grassroots organizing strategies, developing opportunities for underrepresented populations in civic leadership, and laying the groundwork for substantive policy reforms.

Honoring Dr. Betty Shabazz & Malcolm X El Hajj Malik El Shabazz: A Gravesite Gathering of Prayer and Reflection
2023-02-21 09:00 - 13:00
Register at: https://tinyurl.com/mxziyara

In conjunction with the Muslim Life Program at the Yale Chaplain’s Office, the Muslim Leadership Lab at Dwight Hall is organizing a special visit to honor El Hajj Malik El Shabazz and Dr. Betty Shabazz on the 58th anniversary of Brother Malcolm’s martyrdom.

Buses will leave at 9:00 am from Phelps Gate to travel to Ferncliff Cemetery and return to Yale Campus for approximately 1:00 pm.

There will be communal recitation of sacred texts, spiritual reminders, remembrances, and communal prayer. There will be time for personal reflection and prayer. The visit is open to all students – of all faiths and none.

Please register your interest above so we can determine the best travel arrangements. Seats are limited so please reserve only if you are able to make it.

Office Hours and Workshop with Summer Fellows Coordinator
2023-02-20 19:00 - 20:00 | Dwight Hall at Yale, 67 High St, New Haven, CT, 06511, United States

Spirituality & Social Justice Reading Circle 2023 - February 16th
2023-02-16 19:00 - 20:00
Thursdays at Dwight Hall Library from 7:00-8:00 pm. Please register your interest at: https://bit.ly/SSJ2023

In conjunction with the Yale Black Muslim Students Association, The Muslim Leadership Lab at Dwight Hall at Yale is convening a Spirituality & Social Justice Reading Circle.

We will be reading West African Islamic Spiritual Texts focusing on spiritual self-development. How do we prepare ourselves to be a means for Divine mercy, justice, and compassion in the world? This convening will aim to answer this question – and more.

The sessions will be participatory and engaging. Personal reflection and active engagement with the texts and each other will be encouraged. Open to all – people of all faiths and none.

The program will be facilitated by MLL convener Abdul-Rehman Malik (abdul-rehman.malik@yale.edu).

Texts will be provided as PDFs by email.

The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp - Summer Opportunities Info Session
2023-02-13 10:00 - 12:00 | Dwight Hall at Yale Common Room, 67 High Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511
Drop in to the Dwight Hall Common Room to learn about Summer 2023 Volunteer and Employment opportunities at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.

Enjoy refreshments, meet camp Nursing Director, Emily Ring, and Program Team Associate, Jeff Litterst.

Founded in 1988 by Paul Newman, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp provides “a different kind of healing” to more than 20,000 seriously ill children and family members annually – all completely free of charge. For many of these children and families, Hole in the Wall provides multiple Camp experiences throughout the year at the facility in Ashford, Connecticut, in more than 40 hospitals and clinics, directly in camper homes and communities, and through other outreach activities across the Northeast.

Summer Public Service Fellowships Information Session
2023-02-10 13:00 - 14:15 | Dwight Hall at Yale Common Room, 67 High Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511
RSVP here. Webinar link: https://yale.zoom.us/j/95543597530

Are you looking for a summer fellowship opportunity in New Haven, Washington DC, or beyond? Join Dwight Hall, the Yale Office of Career Strategy, and the Office of Fellowships and Funding for a hybrid information session surrounding summer public service fellowships and guidance for summer fellowship applications.

Lunch will be provided.

The panelists include:

Mark Fopeano, Director of Programming and Evaluation at Dwight Hall at Yale

Robyn Acampora, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Public Service Careers at the Yale Office of Career Strategy

Emma Rose, Associate Director of Fellowships at the Center for International and Professional Experience

Yale Economic Development Symposium
2023-02-10 09:00 - 17:30
Registration for the 2023 Yale Economic Development Symposium on “Building Resilient Communities” is now open! For the first time in 3 years, this year’s event will be held in person at the Yale School of Management on February 10th, 2023 to explore the role of economic development in driving long-term sustainability and resiliency of local as well as global communities. The symposium will feature several networking opportunities, two incredible keynote speakers from the domestic and international development space, and panels encompassing fintech and financial inclusion, the energy transition in rural communities, economic equity through food entrepreneurship, and community-led development. More information and registration can be found here: https://www.yaleeconomicdevelopment.com/

Back in FOCUS Information Session for leaders
2023-02-08 20:00 - 22:00
For years, FOCUS on New Haven has invited first-years, sophomores, transfers, and Eli Whitney students to engage in meaningful community service, learn more about Yale and about New Haven, and meet a wonderful community of FOCUS leaders and participants. And right now, the program is accepting applications for board and group leaders! You do not need to have any prior experience with FOCUS — just a passion for service and a desire to help to introduce students to the New Haven community.

On February 8th from 8pm-10pm FOCUS directors Emma and Arielle will be hosting an information session in the Dwight Hall common room (along with snacks)! They will be there to answer any and all questions about the application process as well as listen to your feedback or suggestions for the program or anything else. We look forward to seeing you there!

About FOCUS leadership roles

Leaders will be paired with a co-leader, and lead a team of first-years through thoughtful conversations and service in support of New Haven. Applications will be due Friday, February 24th, and can be found here.

Meanwhile, our board will help run everything from coordinating food to creating programming to running our social media. Attached is a document with more information about specific board positions and their responsibilities, but all of them will require weekly meetings with the rest of the board this semester, as well as remote work over the summer prior to the start of FOCUS. You do not have to have been a FOCUS leader in the past to apply for a board position, and first-years are encouraged to apply! Board applications will be due Friday, February 17th, and can be found here.

New Haven Civic Innovation Prize Technical Assistance Session
2023-02-08 10:00 - 11:00, 2023-02-02 17:30 - 18:30 | Dwight Hall at Yale Common Room, 67 High Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511
Join us for an Information and Technical Assistance session for the New Haven Civic Innovation Prize! This session will review the criteria for the Prize and we will answer any questions you have about the application due February 12.

This is a hybrid event that will be broadcast from the Dwight Hall Common Room. If you would like to participate via Zoom, please register here for a link.

The New Haven Civic Innovation Prize awards up to $10,000 to the best student- or community-led venture or project focused on benefiting the City of New Haven.

The Prize aims to catalyze student- and community-led innovations that address, and are informed by, community priorities. Community members, students, or teams of students and community members who are working on projects in key areas of community development, particularly related to recovery from the health and economic crises causes by the COVID-19 pandemic, are welcome to apply.

The competition provides participants with constructive feedback from experienced professionals, mentorship from relevant experts, and chances to meet social entrepreneurs and civic leaders. The judges will award a total of $10,000 in prizes and may elect to allocate the prize amount to a single winner, or between two teams.

Learn more:

Further information including Prize criteria and links to the application can be found at http://dwighthall.org/civicinnovationprize

Students for Sensible Drug Policy NightCap Event
2023-02-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Dwight Hall at Yale Common Room, 67 High Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511
Want to talk about partying and drink spiking? Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP @ Yale) is looking for 300 Yale students (18-23) to participate in a study introducing NightCaps, a reusable cup lid that helps to prevent drink spiking. The launch event will take place at Dwight Hall on Monday, February 6th at 7 pm and will include pizza and refreshments. Upon completion of a quick ~5-minute survey, all students will receive a FREE Yale-branded NightCap to keep and use. The first 150 students to sign up will receive a FREE metal straw along with their NightCap.

Please see the flyer below, and sign up here: https://cglink.me/2dA/r1973774. DM @SSDPYale on Instagram or email amanda.ivatorov@yale.edu with questions or if you want to participate but that day/time doesn’t work for you!

Volunteer at the First Northeast Disability and Agriculture Conference Presented By Healing By Growing Farms - Spring 2023 Service Series
2023-02-04 07:00 - 18:00
https://cglink.me/2dA/r1993243

Volunteers are needed to support this landmark conference being held in Connecticut. Dwight Hall will assist in facilitating transportation to and from the conference. Volunteers are asked to register both on this Yale Connect page and via the conference registration page (more info below).

About the Conference:

The Northeast Disability and Agriculture Conference is a first-time regional event designed to educate and empower the agricultural community. Through workshops and presentations, farmer attendees will learn how to better advocate for themselves, and service provider attendees will learn how to identify potential distress risks within the community. Together attendees will learn how to build a network sharing skills and resources to improve accessibility and reduce industry incidents of suicide.

About Healing by Growing Farms:

The conference is presented by Healing by Growing Farms, a community that fosters a holistic healing approach that reconnects trauma survivors to themselves, nature, and the environment. We seek to empower individuals to engage in sustainable and regenerative permaculture.

Information for Volunteers:

This will be an amazing educational and life experience for volunteers as they engage and interact with attendees from over 7 states and with a community of people with ALL abilities from all walks of life from food justice to food growers to environmental justice to forestry, fishery and mental health to name a few.

Responsibilities: Will include but are not limited to the following as other needs may come up on the day of the event.

* Set-up/Tear-down

Chairs, tables, a podium, microphones, etc. are all a big part of our conference. Rooms have to be put together with adequate seating for attendees and often, this involves a quick change to the room layout for another session. Volunteers help to quickly get these spaces set-up and then dismantled again are vital.

* Coat Check

People don’t really like walking around conferences with their coats and bulky belongings. Most sessions have chairs packed-in pretty close and there’s not a whole lot of room for people to be lugging around a lot of stuff especially when they have physical limitations. Having a few volunteers that will work at an area specifically designed for people to leave and then later pick-up their coats is vital to our event.

* Greeters/Ushers

Helping to fill rooms in a systematic way. For the large sessions, it’s important to evenly fill the space. Having ushers to show people to a specific seat is definitely helpful. Even if we aren’t ushering people, just having a greeter to help attendees know where to go or just verify that they are at the “right place” is a necessary service.

* Parking Attendants: As this is an ALL-ABILITIES EVENT and over 40% of the survey respondents reported having some type of limitation

Parking space is always a huge concern and having people that will direct cars will make the most of our available space. It’s one of the more labor-intensive jobs at the conference, but one of the most important given all the potential limitations attendees may have and the weather.

* Runners

Miscellaneous needs pop-up at a moment’s notice. Something may be needed in one of the breakout session rooms, or a message needs to get posted that a session is going to be in a different location. When things like this happen, having someone that can quickly attend to it is crucial. These runners keep the pace of the conference moving and help keep our event host and volunteer manager on the know with happenings.

* Meals/Coffee/Water Station

Keeping everyone hydrated and fueled at the conference is important. Having someone help set up the meals (breakfast and lunch) and monitor the snacks/coffee and/or water for attendees is really important especially when done with a smile.

* Information Table Attendant

There’s plenty happening during a conference and attendees will frequently have questions. They’ll need location information, time information and sometimes just a little help to find the best session for them, the healthcare room and the resources room.

* Registration Desk

Having people to get attendees registered and off on their way at the conference is a very important first point of contact. Smiling volunteers that help people get started at the conference is as important as the front desk clerk at a hotel.

Help with displaying event signage, giving badges, life saver cards, signing attendees out at the end of the event and sending them to get their stipends, as well as monitoring the virtual attendance; tracking and recording for all (4) sessions will be vital to ensure we capture all our numbers for funder reporting purposes after the event.

* Workshop Monitors

Sometimes called “presiders,” these volunteers stay in the workshop rooms to make sure everything is running smoothly. They attend to anything the presider may need during the session and act as an official from the conference.

* Copywriter

After the event we will need at least one volunteer to help us develop communications including: Content on website, Resources Library on website (we are collecting virtual resources) and the creation of an online and print Newsletter with post conference highlights, pictures, stories and the such.

* Wayfinding and support

Volunteers to provide assistance to guests throughout the conference including connecting with the Mental Health Triage Licensed Professional who will be available for attendees at the event.

* Audience Q&A

During the conference we may need to facilitate Q&A with the audience which may involve roving microphones. The volunteer will aid with the distribution of microphones amongst the audience as needed.

* Social Media

Volunteer to run our social media accounts for the day featuring live stories, interviews and photos to make our event engaging from start to finish. We already have a pre-conference event consent attendees completed as part of their registration process allowing us to use their audio, pics, etc.

* Raffles & Fundraisers

Dedicated volunteers roam throughout the conference to engage with attendees and sell tickets for our social impact cause at Healing By Growing Farms.

How to Sign Up:1. Volunteers should register on the Yale Connect event page.

2. Volunteers should also register at the conference page located here:https://forms.gle/jCui5va7KLwBFz526

A Beginner's Guide to America with author Roya Hakakian
2023-02-03 19:00 - 20:30
Register here.

At a time when America seems more divided than ever, Roya Hakakian, a naturalized immigrant shares her American experience, and tells others what it took to fall in love with America, despite its flaws. A Beginner’s Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious (Knopf) exemplifies how one immigrant wishes to do her part to heal our national wounds and enable the native-born to see what they can’t see.

While it disguises itself as a manual for newcomers to America, it is truly Roya’s way of talking to the native-born Americans and reminding them of the significance of their racial multiplicity, founding ideals, and democratic principles, not only for the sake of America herself, but for all others who have known and are fighting totalitarianism.

As shifting demographics and our divided political culture make anti-immigrant backlash stronger than ever, it’s all the more important that all Americans hear Roya’s story and those by others included in the book.

Sanctuary Kitchen will be offering a special menu for this event. Registered participants for this event will be given the option to purchase a meal between Tuesday, January 24th and Monday, January 30th with a curbside pickup time of Friday, February 3rd from 4 to 6pm – in time to pickup and be ready to join the virtual event at 7pm. We will offer two pick up locations: Yale’s OISS Office (421 Temple Street, New Haven, CT 06511) and at Sanctuary Kitchen (109 Legion Avenue, New Haven, CT 06519).

Please note that this event Is private, and the zoom link is reserved only for ticket holders. The book is available for purchase online, as well as at local New Haven bookstores.

We are honored to host this event with our partners at the Yale University Office of International Students and Scholars, Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, The MacMillan Center at Yale University, and Dwight Hall at Yale University.

A﻿bout Roya: ROYA HAKAKIAN is the author of Assassins of the Turquoise Palace and Journey from the Land of No, and has published two collections of poetry in Persian. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and on NPR’s All Things Considered. She has collaborated on programming for leading journalism units in network television, including 60 Minutes. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and served on the editorial board of World Affairs. Since 2015, she has taught at THREAD, a writing workshop at Yale, and is a fellow at the Davenport College at Yale. She lives in Connecticut.

A﻿bout Carlos: Carlos Eire, who received his PhD from Yale in 1979, specializes in the social, intellectual, religious, and cultural history of late medieval and early modern Europe, with a focus on both the Protestant and Catholic Reformations; the history of popular piety; and the history of the supernatural, and the history of death. Before joining the Yale faculty in 1996, he taught at St. John’s University in Minnesota and the University of Virginia, and was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton for two years. He is the author of War Against the Idols: The Reformation of Worship From Erasmus to Calvin (1986); From Madrid to Purgatory: The Art and Craft of Dying in Sixteenth Century Spain (1995); A Very Brief History of Eternity (2010); Reformations: The Early Modern World (2016); and The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila: A Biography (2019). And he is co-author of Jews, Christians, Muslims: An Introduction to Monotheistic Religions (1997). He has also ventured into the twentieth century and the Cuban Revolution in the memoir Waiting for Snow in Havana (2003), which won the National Book Award in Nonfiction in the United States and has been translated into more than a dozen languages. His second memoir, Learning to Die in Miami (2010), explores the exile experience. A past president of the Society for Reformation Research, he is currently researching attitudes toward miracles in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. His recent book Reformations won the R.R.Hawkins Prize for Best Book of the Year from the American Publishers Association, as well as the award for Best Book in the Humanities. It was also awarded the Jaroslav Pelikan Prize by Yale University Press. All of his books are banned in Cuba, where he has been proclaimed an enemy of the state – a distinction he regards as the highest of all honors.

A﻿bout Sanctuary Kitchen: At Sanctuary Kitchen, we partner with immigrants and refugees to build economic opportunity and authentic connections through food. Through our culinary training program and social enterprise, Sanctuary Kitchen provides professional development and employment at an above-market wage for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the Greater New Haven area. Currently, 100% of Sanctuary Kitchen chefs are women. Sanctuary Kitchen chefs have reported reduced social isolation, increased financial stability, improved English language skills, professional culinary skills, and new relationships and networks that provide sustained holistic support.

Lunarfest: Year of the Rabbit
2023-01-28 10:00
Join us on January 28 at 10 am on Whitney Avenue to ring in the New Year with our lion dance parade. Participate in free, family-friendly activities after the parade at our partner locations. See full schedule here.

Lunarfest is Connecticut’s largest annual Lunar New Year celebration. Featuring a traditional lion dance troupe, local artists, and local organizations, the annual festivities are full of learning, culture, arts, and fun. In 2021, Lunarfest went fully virtual, but we are back in person.

A huge thank you to our sponsors and partners.

Join us for our first year back fully in person since 2020!
