Friday, May 8th
3:30-5:30pm
Franklin Field Community/Teen Center
70 Ames Street, Dorchester, MA 02124

This is your opportunity to meet the BU students, Franklin Field community residents, Codman Square-area community partners, Boston University faculty, and other supporters while enjoying some BBQ’d burgers (veggie & meat), salads, guacamole, and more!! You can learn about what we have been doing and what we plan to do in the future.

Please let us know you are coming before Monday, May 4th by submitting the form below. If you want to bring your favorite dish or have a special request, please let us know!!

The BU students shared passionate stories about why they chose to participate, the work they have done, what they have learned, and how they hope the program might develop in the future. The Franklin Field resident spoke about her experiences with the students, the context in which the program is operating (ex. “The Franklin Field community is strong and is ‘up-and-coming’”), and how she felt the program could best contribute to the community in the future.

Community members from the council then had the opportunity to ask questions about the program and to pose challenges for the team as they move forward. “What are your measurable outcomes?” “How will you ensure sustainability?” “How will you address root causes of social disparities through systems-changing action?” “How will you empower residents?” These questions and more came up and a lively discussion followed that spilled past the official meeting closure at 5:30pm.

As we move forward with this program, we hope to incorporate some of the ideas presented at the meeting and to continue our relationship with the Codman Square Health Council in order to provide a critical “check” from the community residents about the program’s activities.

We are in the process of scheduling a similar meeting with Boston University stakeholders and will be sure to update you once this has been arranged.

A critical part of any relationship is responsibility. As a campus-community partnership, part of our responsibility is to report back to the academic and community stakeholders. That is why you are invited to our presentation at the…

Codman Square Health Council Meeting
Thursday, April 16th
4:00-5:30pm
@ Codman Square Health Center
637 Washington Street
Dorchester, MA 02124
(617) 825-9660

Get directions

Boston University students and Franklin Field community residents from the Transdisciplinary Service-Learning team will be present to talk about their experiences and to answer your questions about the program. We’ll also give a brief history of the project and talk about future opportunities for continuation.

Upcoming Meetings

If you missed a chance to see the program in action, there are four more meetings that you are invited to attend:

• April 17th
• April 24th
• May 1st
• May 8th

All meetings are from 3:3o-5:30pm and are held at the Franklin Field Community/Teen Center (70 Ames St., Dorchester, MA 02124). Should you choose to attend, you will be expected to:

• Let us know you are coming at least 1 day before (to plan for food)
• Introduce yourself and share your interest in coming to the session
• Actively participate in group discussions and activities

Thank you for your continued support!

RSVP here

• Learn about Social Entrepreneurship
• Connect with other Social Entrepreneurs
• Promote Social Entrepreneurship at BU
• Initiate Social Impact Projects

• Learn about Social Entrepreneurship
  • Speakers
    • Jonathan Rosen (BU SMG)
    • Kristen McCormack (BU SMG) – “Social Entrepreneurship: A Definition”
    • Mark Allen (BU SMG) – “Starting a Project”
    • Paul Javid, Digital StudyHall and Digital Polyclinic (India)
    • Bill Walczak (Director, Codman Square Health Center)
    • Wilford Welch (Author, “Tactics of Hope”)
  • Conferences
    • BU Forum for Social Entrepreneurship (ForSE)
    • HBS Social Enterprise Conference
    • MIT Millennium Campus ConferenceBU SMG Symposium
  • Workshop
    • “How to Write A Business Plan”
  • Field Trip
    • Codman Square Health Center
• Connect with other Social Entrepreneurs
  • Paul Krezanowski, opportunity solutions international (BUSM III)
  • Elise Moussa, Borderless Educations
  • Michael Ellisaon, Business Advancement & Social Entrepreneurship (BASE)
  • Andrew Stein, Boston TiE Social Entrepreneurship Group
• Promote Social Entrepreneurship at BU
  • BU OTD Ignition Awards Review Committee
• Initiate Social Impact Projects
  • Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness
  • Transdisciplinary Service-Learning Program

There have been several developments since our last update! For one, the Transdisciplinary Social Impact Team (TSIT) celebrated reaching their first, self-defined measurable outcome this past Friday, March 27th, 2009 with a delicious Jamaican-style meal at Lorenz Island Kuisine. Their goal – “To identify three priority actions for at least two cases and complete the first priority action for each case by March 27th, 2009.” – was developed seven weeks ago at the program orientation and had to meet the SMART criteria:

• Specific:  Do you know exactly what you want to accomplish with all the details?
• Measurable:  Are you able to assess your progress?
• Attainable:  Is your goal within your reach given your current situation?
• Relevant:  Is your goal relevant towards your purpose in life?
• Time-Sensitive:  What is the deadline for completing your goal?

Since the initial program orientation, the team has met three times for service-related activities and has had three topic-focused learning modules. Pictures from these meetings can be found in our SCRAPBOOK.

The team of students from BU Schools of Education, Law, Medicine and Public Health is eager to continue their existing relationships community residents and to work with even more residents from the BHA Franklin Field Housing Development!

Current Challenges

The natural progression of the program has resulted in a variety of challenges:

(1) How will we decrease barriers to attending meetings so as to maximize community resident participation?

Two main obstacles for community participation in the program have been identified by team members, community partners and community residents: (1) transportation and (2) childcare services. We’ve been trying to decrease transportation issues by finding a meeting location within the Franklin Field Housing Development, closer to residents’ homes. We are also exploring a partnership with DotWell volunteers to provide childcare services. Let’s hope that we can overcome this challenge soon! If you have any ideas, let us know!!

(2) How can we best integrate this pilot program into Boston University?

As the pilot program moves forward, we have been meeting with a variety of potential collaborators from the Boston University community to explore possible partnerships. There are many options for integrating the program into a more sustainable, long-term relationship between academia and communities. If you are interested in getting involved with this effort, send us an e-mail!!

Until next time!

The Transdisciplinary Service-Learning program, focused on Fiscal Health in Franklin Field, that we have shared with you is now underway! We will use this medium to send you updates as the project moves forward.

Also, we invite to you send us inquiries or comments and to participate in this process…attend a session, talk to participants about their experiences, or join us for the final presentations in May 2009.

Click here for more details about the Project on Fiscal Health in Franklin Field.

Project Orientation

On Saturday Feb. 7th and Sunday Feb. 8th, the Transdisciplinary Social Impact Team met for the first time at the program orientation. The two-day orientation featured an introduction to the Codman Square and Franklin Field communities, a variety of team-building exercises, and a meeting with many of the project stakeholders: BU faculty, local physicians, community residents, local police officers, and representatives from community organizations. By the end of an intense 10 hours of orientation activities, the team had established their vision for the project:

To generate a sustainable model and transdisciplinary partnership to empower and inspire the community towards unimpeded independence to shape our shared destiny.

Working through a leadership development curriculum created using materials and guidance from Management Sciences for Health, the team also produced their first measurable result:

To identify three priority actions for at least two cases and complete the first priority action for each case by March 27th, 2009.

Meet the Transdisciplinary Team

The team consists of six graduate students from the Boston University Schools of Education, Law, Medicine and Public Health. Although the students come from a variety of backgrounds, they are united by the spirit of service. Over the rest of Spring Semester, the team will be meeting every Friday for 2 hours to complete an alternating series of service and learning modules intertwined with leadership development exercises.

The team has already completed one learning module on Feb. 13th about “Income: A Root Cause of Health Disparities?” facilitated by Doreen Treacy (CivicHealth Institute & DotWell), one service module on Feb. 20th hosted by Kathy McKenzie-Johnson, the DotWell Fiscal Health Case Manager, and a second learning module on Feb. 27th about “Undoing Racism” facilitated by Adam Gibbons. In the service module, the team met with residents of Franklin Field with whom they will be working for the rest of the semester. They used the opportunity to get to know one another and to start to determine the priority actions for each resident household.

Your Role in this Process

You are free to choose your level of involvement as this program moves forward. From attentive observer to active participant and everything in-between, your support has been and will continue to be invaluable. Thank you.