Dwight Hall at Yale

Mission

The mission of Dwight Hall at Yale is to nurture and inspire students as leaders of social change and to advance justice and service in New Haven and around the world.  Dwight Hall, a not-for-profit organization independent of Yale, was founded by undergraduates in 1886 and has operated continuously since then as a student-initiated service organization. As the Center for Public Service and Social Justice, Dwight Hall reflects a diverse Yale student body and a strong history of social justice work in New Haven and beyond. Whether through feeding the hungry, fighting for civil rights, defending the most vulnerable residents, or tutoring and mentoring countless New Haven public school students, Dwight Hall has been a physical link between Yale students and the communities outside of campus and has stood as a model of how college students should engage with the world. Dwight Hall encourages and nurtures student service and justice initiatives, by guiding and supporting the creation of new organizations tackling urgent and emerging issues or by strengthening and building the capacity of existing student groups. In this way, the needs of New Haven and communities beyond the city are served, while students acquire valuable skills and hands-on experience that they will apply to their work after graduation. Through their participation in Dwight Hall activities, students come to realize that service and justice are not so much about doing and fixing but rather about learning, sharing, engaging, and building community. Dwight Hall's organizations, fellowships, and resources support the transformation of students into agents of social change. Dwight Hall's envisioned future is to be universally known as a model for forging, convening, and nurturing student leadership in service, justice, and social change. activists from the New Haven community.