Community Engagement
Health professional programs expect applicants to demonstrate a desire to help, work with, and understand others.
Working in healthcare requires a service orientation and commitment to your community. Engage your campus community through student organizations, a Community Service & Civic Engagement program, and/or a Service-Learning course. Volunteer in meaningful ways to become an engaged and educated citizen dedicated to helping others.

The Active Citizen Continuum. Break Away. Retrieved August 14, 2023, from http://alternativebreaks.org
Campus Involvement
College is a time to explore new interests, make friends, establish relationships, and gain teamwork experience. It is important to make time for meaningful extracurricular activities that allow you to actively engage with and give back to your community, in addition to studying. One of the best ways to create connections with others who share your ideals, interests, and/or career goals is to become involved on campus!
The websites below will help you begin your quest to find engaging and meaningful opportunities on our campuses.
Boston
Center for Student Involvement
Cultural and Spiritual Life Centers
Office of Community Service & Civic Engagement
London
Northeastern University Student Union (NUSU) London
Oakland
The Center for Leadership, Equity, and Excellence
PreMed and PreHealth Student Organizations
Included in the resources above are Boston-based student organizations centered on professional interests and aspirations in the areas we advise. They include but are not limited to the following. A full listing of student organizations at Northeastern University can be found here (Boston) and here (Oakland).
Alpha Epsilon Delta (The National Health Preprofessional Honor Society)
Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) is the National Health Preprofessional Honor Society dedicated to the encouragement and recognition of excellence in preprofessional health scholarship. Northeastern’s chapter includes undergraduate students on the pre-med, pre-PA, pre-vet, pre-PT and pre-dental track.
American Medical Student Association (NU AMSA)
NU AMSA offers students from all backgrounds a chance to join a community of pre-medical focused individuals like themselves. We provide helpful seminars and activities, invite speakers and collaborate with other organizations to help guide you through your journey, no matter what stage.
American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA)
The American Medical Women’s Association is an organization which functions at the local, national, and international level to advance women in medicine and improve women’s health. We achieve this by providing and developing leadership, advocacy, education, expertise, mentoring, and strategic alliances.
inSIGHT
inSIGHT is an organization that provides a foundation for students who have an interest in an eye-health related field. We plan to host meetings where we will invite professionals from the field to talk about their careers, share scientific articles about the most recent advances in the “eye world”, talk about upcoming application due dates and testing strategies, and network with graduate programs to learn more about educational opportunities in this field. Overall, we will help each other figure out what is best for us in terms of a career!
Minority Association of Pre-Health Students (MAPS)
The Northeastern University MAPS chapter exists to support current and future underrepresented medical students, addressing the needs of underserved communities, and increasing the number of clinically excellent, culturally competent and socially conscious physicians.
Post-baccalaureate Student Association (PBSA)
PBSA was founded with the goal of supporting fellow students in the post-baccalaureate program at Northeastern. Because our program is intended for non-traditional healthcare students, our organization intends to provide opportunities for this unique group.
Phi Delta Epsilon Medical Fraternity
Phi Delta Epsilon was founded in 1904 at Cornell University Medical College and since then has amassed more than 150 medical and premedical chapters around the world. Students at Northeastern University could be potentially invited into an expansive network of physicians and students which embraces diversity and pushes its members towards achieving the highest standards in the medical community.
Pre-Dental Association
The Pre-Dental Association is a student organization at Northeastern University comprised of those students aspiring to pursue careers in the dental profession. We meet monthly to discuss the application process, examine strategies for facing the Dental Admission Test and engage in activities that broaden our understanding of dentistry.
Pre-Physician Assistant Society (Pre-PA Society)
The purpose of the Pre-PA Society is to educate students about the PA profession and guide those interested in pursuing this career. The Society will help students decipher required coursework and promote academic achievement, as well as aid in the preparation for the graduate school admission process. Furthermore, interactions with health care professionals and graduate students will give undergraduates insight to this rapidly growing and competitive field. Society meetings will also help to facilitate communication among pre-PA students.
Pre-Veterinary Club (NUPVC)
Northeastern University Pre-Veterinary Club (NUPVC) is a group for students who are considering applying to veterinary school, and students with an interest in any field of veterinary medicine.
The Student Osteopathic Medical Association (Pre-SOMA)
The purpose of the Student Osteopathic Medical Association, the student affiliate organization of the American Osteopathic Association, is to promote osteopathic ideals and unity within the profession, to educate future osteopathic physicians, and to establish and to maintain lines of communication among healthcare professionals in an ongoing effort to improve the quality of healthcare.
Virtual Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteering virtually allows applicants to provide essential support to communities in need without the barriers imposed by physical location. Virtual volunteering is safe, can be global in scope, and may be accommodated alongside a busy academic and/or work schedule.
- Mentor with CovEducation
- Become a Counselor with Crisis Text Line
- Be My Eyes
- Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC)
- Boston Cares
- Catholic Charities Boston (see virtual opportunities)
- City of Hope
- Crisis Text Line
- Dress for Success (virtual suiting program)
- Operation Warm
- Paper Airplanes Virtual Tutoring
- Planned Parenthood
- Potencia Tutoring
- Reading Partners
- Code.org
- LearnToBe.org
- LGBT National Help Center
- UPchieve.org
- TeensGive.org
- Translators without Borders
- Cards for Hospitalized Kids
- DOROT’s Caring Calls Program
- Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) Hotline
- Tarjimly
- Suicide Prevention Lifeline Volunteer
- Find Virtual Volunteer Opportunities on Points of Light’s Volunteer Hub
Clinical Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteering in clinical settings can provide applicants with a foundational understanding of healthcare systems while allowing them the opportunity to give back in clinical environments across any of the health professions we advise.
By Location:
BOSTON CLINICAL SERVICES
- Animal Rescue League Boston
- Angell Animal Medical Center Volunteer
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Boston Children’s Hospital
- Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program
- Boston Medical Center
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital MCEP Volunteer Program
- Dana-Farber Cancer Center
- East Boston Neighborhood Health Center
- Fenway Health Center (Advocating for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and other underserved populations)
- Franciscan Children’s Hospital
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Mass Eye and Ear Clinical Exploratory Program
- New England Baptist Hospital
- The Boston Cat Hospital
- Tufts Medical Center
GREATER MASSACHUSETTS CLINICAL SERVICES
- Cape Cod Hospital (Hyannis)
- Faulkner Hospital (Jamaica Plain)
- Hospice of Massachusetts
- Lowell General (Lowell)
- McLean Hospital (Belmont)
- Mount Auburn Hospital (Cambridge)
- New England Wildlife Center Veterinary Internship Program (South Weymouth)
- Newton Wellesley Hospital (Newton)
- Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (Multiple Locations)
- Umass Memorial Medical Center (Worcester)
BAY AREA/OAKLAND CLINICAL SERVICES
Community Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteering with your local community can provide applicants with a basic understanding of community needs while allowing them the opportunity to give back to underserved or underrepresented populations.
PLEASE NOTE: All opportunities are Massachusetts-based unless otherwise specified.
By Service Type:
ANIMAL SERVICES
- Animal Adventures
- City of Boston Care and Control Facility
- Dog B.O.N.E.S.
- Franklin Park Zoo
- Gifford Cat Shelter
- Lovelane: Special Needs Horseback Riding Program
- MSPCA-Angell Animal Action Team
- MSPCA-Angell Adoption Center (Multiple Locations)
- New England Aquarium
- New England Aquarium (Marine Mammal Husbandry Internship)
- New England Wildlife Center
- Quincy Animal Shelter
- Seabird Ecological Assessment Network (SEANET) (Conducting beached bird surveys)
- Tufts Paws for People
- Tufts Wildlife Clinic
CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts
- Big Sister Boston
- Books for Wider Horizons (California)
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston
- Camp Boggy Creek
- Christopher’s Haven
- City Year AmeriCorps
- East End House
- Horizon’s for Homeless Children Playspace Volunteer
- Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Boston
- Jewish Family and Children’s Service
- Partners For Youth with Disabilities
- Ronald McDonald House
- StandUp For Kids
- The Baker Center For Children and Families
- The Home For Little Wanderers
- Yawkey Family Inn at Boston Children’s Hospital
COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES
- AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts
- Boston Living Center
- City Natives
- East Oakland Initiative (California)
- Envisioning Access
- Family Van
- Habitat for Humanity
- Health Leads
- Hope Lodge through the American Cancer Society
- Justice Resource Institute
- Link Health Fellows and Ambassadors Program
- Make-A-Wish Foundation
- Massachusetts Dental Society (MDS) Cares Community Service Program
- Oxfam America Interns and Volunteer
- Shattuck Partners
- Spaulding Rehab Hospital Adaptive Sports Program
- The Junior League of Boston
- United Way of Massachusetts Bay
FOOD INSECURITY
- Alameda Community Food Bank (California)
- Community Servings
- Haley House
- Project Open Hand (California)
- My Brother’s Table
- Rescuing Leftover Food
- The Greater Boston Food Bank
MENTAL HEALTH/IDENTITY AFFIRMING/CRISIS SUPPORT
- Boston Area Rape Crisis Center
- Boston Rescue Mission
- Casa Myrna
- Crisis Text Line Volunteer
- Fenway Health Helpline/Peer Listening Line
- National Alliance on Medical Health MA
- Parents Helping Patients
- Samaritan’s: You are not Alone
- The Baker Center for Children and Families
- Trevor Project Crisis Support Counselor Volunteer
SERVICES FOR OLDER ADULTS
- Ethos (supporting elderly community members)
- Friendship Works
- Hebrew Senior Life
- Somerville and Cambridge Elder Services
SERVICES FOR UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS