THE NORTH CAROLINA ALBERT SCHWEITZER FELLOWS PROGRAM is a one-year interdisciplinary fellowship program focused on community service, leadership development, and reflection.  Students enrolled in a North Carolina degree-granting graduate program in a health professional field for the academic year of 2009-2010 may apply. Past Fellows have been students in such fields as medicine, nursing, public health, social work, law, and dentistry.

STIPEND INCREASE TO $3000.  Thanks to the generosity of a grant from Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, we have been able to increase the Fellow stipend to $3,000. Fellows who share a project, share a stipend and the service hour requirements proportionally. In addition, the major site at which a project is being conducted is now eligible for a $1,000 site stipend upon approval of a plan to sustain the Fellow’s project.

The North Carolina Schweitzer Fellows Program has four goals:  

1) provide communities in NC with needed health services through the volunteer assistance of talented health and human service students; and 
2) build future leaders in health fields who are skilled and committed to working with underserved populations in their professional lives; and 
3) alter the culture of professional schools so they more effectively
address needs of  surrounding disadvantaged communities; and  
4) support program alumni who continue in lifelong community service and who are influential role models for other professionals.

The projects should provide direct service to an underserved population in NC, eliminate health disparities, and improve quality of life. The majority of the service hours must be spent in face to face contact with the population you are serving. Research, fundraising and policy based projects are not considered eligible. Health, as defined by the World Health Organization, is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Please contact the Program Director if you need assistance identifying a project site or go to our website, www.schweitzerfellowship.org.  Past projects and agencies are also listed.

Consideration will be given but is not limited to projects in following areas: access to primary care, diabetes, mental health, substance abuse, and prevention. Be creative in developing your proposal. You may build upon, but not simply duplicate, a past project. Or, you may choose to develop a totally unique project in keeping with Dr. Schweitzer’s directive that everyone should find their own Lambarene, their own special place to serve.

A LITTLE HISTORY.  Initiated in 1994, the North Carolina Schweitzer Fellows Program is one of 11 such programs in the United States sponsored by The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. These programs are inspired by the life example of Albert Schweitzer, the Nobel Peace Prize winning physician, philosopher, preacher, and musician who gave up a promising career in music to become a doctor and work in West Africa.

The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is the only interdisciplinary, nonprofit organization that is fostering a reflective service-learning opportunity for health and human service students in multiple locations across the US.  Our mission is to develop “leaders in service”— individuals who are dedicated and skilled in addressing the health needs of underserved communities, and whose example influences and inspires others.  Each Schweitzer Fellow’s project creatively addresses an unmet local health need through activities that are planned in partnership with those served; builds a collaborative bridge between the Fellow’s school and a local agency serving a community in need; and provides both immediate and enduring value to the community served.

REQUIRED ACTIVITIES OF FELLOWS 

Service Project:	Fellows design and carry out a health-related direct service project of at least 200 hours in collaboration with a local community agency under the leadership of a site supervisor and academic mentor of the student’s choice.  A minimum of 150 hours will be spent in face to face direct contact with the population they are trying to reach. The remaining 50 hours can be spent for planning time, and other project activities. Your 200 hours is separate from any school course requirement.
Reports & Evaluations:	Fellows submit monthly one-page reports about their activities; a written final report; a poster summarizing their project to be displayed at the Fellow’s school; and an evaluation about the Fellowship experience.
Monthly Meetings:	Fellows are required to attend all monthly meetings.  Monthly meetings provide the Fellows with interdisciplinary discussions, time for reflection on community service, and an opportunity to network with professionals in service professions.
Public Outreach:	Each Fellow works on a committee to organize one of three public symposia on health issues affecting underserved communities.
Recruitment:	In the fall of 2009, Fellows organize an information session on their Fellowship experience at their school.
Celebration of Service: Orientation & Retreat:	Fellows attend a Celebration of Service honoring current Fellows and introducing new Fellows in April, 2009  in the Triangle area. Fellows also attend the event in April, 2010. Fellows attend an overnight orientation May 30 - 31, 2009 in Davidson, NC. Fellows also attend a mid-year afternoon retreat in the fall of 2009 in the Triangle.

The North Carolina Fellows Program aims to help Fellows:

• Improve skills used for working with communities, including basic knowledge about approaches to community work; community outreach; community building and networking; and publicity, fundraising, and advocacy 
• Gain exposure to the impact of health disparities and health policies on local communities
• Learn about other health-related professions
• Improve overall capabilities for leadership in service
• Participate in a voluntary network of over 1,700Fellows for Life who seek to include service in their personal and professional lives

APPLICATION

Applications should include:

• A personal statement that explains your reasons for applying to the North Carolina Schweitzer Fellows Program and your proposed project.
• Proposed time frame to complete your project.
• Your resume or curriculum vitae.
• A list of two references (include name, telephone number, and a sentence on how you know them). References should include a faculty member at your school who could serve as your academic mentor. Ideally, also list a person at the community agency who would serve as your site supervisor. A letter of recommendation from your academic mentor and a letter of endorsement from your site supervisor are recommended.

Proposed projects should seek to: 
• Address an unmet health need in NC.
• Provide a direct service that meets a community defined need. Applicants should consult with area agencies and reflect on how their project would meet area/population health needs.
• Be of an enduring value to the community/agency served including plans for sustainability.

DEADLINE

Applications must be submitted online by 5:00 pm on February 1, 2009.  The application will be available online in the fall of 2008.

Interviews will be conducted in February in Davidson and Chapel Hill and Fellows will be selected shortly thereafter. For further information, please contact Barbara Heffner, NC Program Director, at
704-895-6506 or beheffner@hotmail.com.