CHINATOWN neighbors &partnersTUFTS IN THE COMMUNITY

In This Issue Improving Access to Dental Health Dental Students Provide Care to Schweitzer Fellows Reach Out to Chinatown Residents Castle Square Tenants / page 3 How do you get a group of 5-11 year-olds to learn more The Tufts chapter of this national program gives graduate about dental health in a fun, non-intimidating setting? students the opportunity to partner with community- Learning From Or teach enthusiastic young Chinatown residents based organizations to develop and implement yearlong, Each Other about the determinants of health in their community mentored service projects that improve health and through photography? Just as importantly, how do well-being. Participation in the program is in addition Community Service Learning at you provide committed dental and medical students to the student’s regular academic responsibilities. the Medical School / page 4 valuable hands-on experience in working with an often- Beyond their individual service projects, the Fellows are underserved community? Making Healthy Choices responsible for completing an annual service project as a Nutrition Students Give Back Through the efforts of the Tufts chapter of the Albert group. Since 2010, the Fellows have made Chinatown’s / page 6 Schweitzer Fellows program, such mutually beneficial annual Oak Street Fair their collective service project. experiences are an ongoing occurrence. More than a dozen Fellows run activities during the day. The Nutrition School students organize a brown Albert Schweitzer Fellows are students who are leaders in 3 rice sushi-making demonstration and display a food art service. Prospective students apply to the fellowship by table; Medical School and Sharewood* students conduct committing to partner with a local community agency and blood pressure screenings and a sensory test; and the designing a 200-hour community service project. Projects Dental School students offer dental screenings and teeth- focus on addressing health issues and/or studying the brushing demonstrations. social determinants of health in the population served. * See page 8 for more about Sharewood.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 » SOMERVILLE 2 CHINATOWN Anthony P. Monaco From Monaco President of Medicine,the SchoolofDentalMedicine,the SacklerSchoolofGraduate public schoolsto begoodneighborsandbuild strongpartnerships.TheSchool departments, works withneighbors,organizations, citygovernmentandthe University, throughitsOfficeofCommunity Relationsandmanyother partnerships andeventsthatbring Tufts andChinatowntogether. Tufts this reporttotheChinatowncommunity. It isasnapshotofthemany Relations The OfficeofCommunity at ispleasedtopresent Tufts University tk with theresidentsandnon-profitorganizations inChinatown. the neighborhood.Tufts Universitywelcomesmore opportunitiesinthefuturetobeagoodneighborChinatown. W the manynon-profitorganizations inChinatownthataresovitaltooursharedcommunity. near highwaystoprovidingdentalcareinthepublicschoolsthroughSmartSmiles.We alsoworktogetherwith T back tothecommunity. YMCA. AllofthesestudentsgainknowledgefromtheresidentsChinatownandlearnimportancegiving Community ServiceLearninginitiative;andstudentsfromourDentalSchoolprovideoutreachcareattheWang Quincy School;studentsfromourMedicalSchoolworkwithavarietyofcommunityagenciesthoughthe from ourFriedmanSchoolofNutritionScienceandPolicymaintaintheQuincyGardenProgramatJosiah W T ufts’ facultyarealsoengagedonimportantcommunityissues,fromstudyingtheairquality e aregratefultobeapartofChinatownandsupportthecommunity’s goalofimprovingtheoverallwellbeing e areproudoftheTufts healthsciencestudents whoengageactivelyintheChinatowncommunity. Students to beactivecitizensandmakeadifference intheworld.We welcomethemanyopportunitiestopartner We arecommittedtoencouragingallmembersofouruniversitycommunity ufts UniversityisfortunatetobelocatedinChinatown,oneofBoston’s mostvibrantneighborhoods. efforts to the benefit Wang YMCA. efforts have organizedfaculty outreach Tufts andyears students, staff, a communitycornerstone. For The Wang YMCA ofChinatown is GOOD NEIGHBORS:TUFTS YMCA ANDTHEWANG

Medicine islocated onacampusinGrafton,MA. Service, andthe FletcherSchool.TheCummings SchoolofVeterinary Engineering, theJonathanM.Tisch CollegeofCitizenship andPublic Somerville campushousesthe School ofArtsandSciences,the Nutrition ScienceandPolicyoccupy acampusinChinatown.TheMedford/ Biomedical SciencesandTheGerald J.andDorothyR.FriedmanSchoolof community progress and growth. andgrowth. community progress of dedicationandcommitmentto was forhermany recognized years 5th AnnualLegacyDinner.Barbara WangYMCAofChinatown’s at the Community Relations, was honored Rubel, of Director Barbara Tufts

—students, facultyandstaff— The Three-point Shootout team Shootout The Three-point Youth Programs. fundsforYMCA helped raise whoparticipated students and Dental Medical Professional, YMCA. the was heldinNovember 2013 at Shootout Association’s Three-point Wang Basketball TheTufts YMCA. the at programs benefit to youth anevent organized Medical students Three-point Shootout sessions. information parent offering clinic,and Dentistry Pediatric Tufts the to fieldtrips organizing teeth, their how brush children to showing the center. activitiesinclude Other daycare atthe children to books Wang dentistry-related YMCAread to the goto students Tufts promotion. awareness literacy health with oral combines that volunteer opportunity Smile, Share,andCareisaunique for peoplewholive

Dental School/Castle Square Tenants Outreach Program Continues to Expand examination and health assessment. For many, A it was their first such screening in years. At a second screening in July, dental students, nutrition students and an ear, nose and throat (ENT) resident together screened 57 residents of the complex. The third screening was held in October where dental, medical, and nutrition students along with orthodontic residents and an ENT faculty member saw 120 patients, including 35 children. As the numbers of participants increased at each screening, it became clear to LOTUS organizers that they were filling an unmet need in the community. The organizers at the Dental School are working to expand the project by including volunteers from the other Tufts Health Sciences, including medical, nutrition, hygiene, veterinary students, and physician assistants. Doing so will result in a more comprehensive clinic for residents and further promote Tufts goal of inter- professional education. Next steps include working with the Castle Square Board of Directors and administration from the Tufts Dental School to set up a clinic Chinatown’s Castle Square Apartment Complex is Tufts University Students (LOTUS) Community Service focusing on the oral care and overall health home to 1500 residents, many of whom are of Asian Program at Castle Square was founded. of the residents. The goal is to have student descent and do not speak English. Residents of Castle At the inaugural event in the summer of 2013, Tufts rotations, under faculty supervision, provide Square are often unable to access basic dental and Dental students and faculty began the first stage of a regular care to residents. Also planned is the health care services. groundbreaking project to reach out to the Chinatown creation of a mentoring program that will Under the guidance of Tufts’ Dr. Kanchan Ganda, who community. Following a presentation in both Cantonese expose middle and high school student- first identified the apartment building as a favorable and English on the link between nutrition, oral hygiene, residents to the sciences. site for a community clinic in Chinatown, the Linkage of and health, about 40 residents underwent an oral

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Schweitzer Fellows Reach Out to Chinatown Residents Recent individual Tufts-Schweitzer Fellows projects in an a cappella singing group for teenagers at the Josiah food, art, environment, nature, and culture. Chinatown include: Quincy Upper School. The group performed songs Participants created a photo-book that was for their classmates, families, and the community. viewed by Governor Deval Patrick when he visited Jenny Citrin, School of Dental Medicine, 2012–2013 The group also gained exposure to music production BCNC. The young people honed their photography Jenny’s project addressed oral health in Chinatown by techniques by recording several selections with a skills while gaining an increased awareness of developing iSmile, a program that dealt with prevention professional sound engineer. health determinants. of dental disease through fun and non-traditional oral health education at the Josiah Quincy Upper and Lower Two second-year medical students, Melody Michaelson Schools. Tufts dental students mentored local high and Dave Frederick, continued Evan’s project at the school students who developed a storyboard for an Upper School. They recorded group selections at a interactive, educational app on dental health with a studio and introduced the a cappella group members 3 focus on the dietary causes of cavities, targeting 5–11 to a college-directed experience. year olds. The high school students then mentored Alan Hsu, School of Medicine, 2011–2012 their elementary school counterparts in healthy Alan’s project encouraged Chinatown youth to learn behaviors and gained insight for app design. more about health through photography. Participants Evan Barnathan, School of Medicine, 2011–2012 at the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center’s Evan addressed the need for additional music Youth Center used cameras to document their communities and experiences. Themes included programming in the Boston public schools by creating CHINATOWN N IMPROVING COMMUNICATION W Tisch College and School of Medicine

O WITH ASIAN PATIENTS T

A Dental student Alan Wong observed a sizable Community Service Learning Program

N pool of Chinese-speaking patients from I Chinatown and Quincy seeking care at the H

C Tufts Dental clinics. The Chinese-speaking students were eager to treat these patients 4 but had limited vocabulary in Chinese dental and medical terminology. With support from the Dental School’s administration, Wong and his classmate, Michelle Tsao, organized a lecture series and developed educational materials for Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking Tufts students. They recruited Chinese-speaking faculty members as volunteer lecturers. The goal was to improve the students’ ability to communicate complicated dental procedures and terminology to these patients. 26 Tufts students participated in the first lecture series. As a result, these students are better able to inquire about patients’ oral health concerns and medical conditions, and can explain procedures in everyday, The Tufts University School of Recent Chinatown projects include: conversational Cantonese or Mandarin. Medicine has long had a commit- • Tufts Outreach: Nutrition In all, there were eight sessions in the lecture ment to public service. The school Education (TONE) This versatile series. The majority were captured to TUSK, took this to a new level with one of and ongoing program trains Tufts an online educational content sharing platform the most robust community service for Tufts students, where they’ll serve as a medical students to provide nutrition learning (CSL) programs in any resource for future students. Wong hopes to counseling for medically under- United States medical school. Every continue these language workshops once served Boston communities.TONE they’ve been integrated into the LOTUS medical student is required to students commit service time to Community Service Project at Castle Square. complete at least 50 hours of established community partners, community service. Approximately Some interesting translations are shown below. including the Wang YMCA in 200 students per class are supported Chinatown. by over 50 faculty reviewers, course directors, staff and partners from • Medical Students provide science Dental Terms over 25 community organizations. and math tutoring after school at the MANDARIN ENGLISH Josiah Quincy Upper School (JQUS), Through a partnership with Tisch xxxxx xx Cavity and offer SAT preparation lessons College, an online course was developed and activities. Additionally, they have xxxxx xx Filling to help students understand the organized after-school enrichment xxxxx xx Plaque fundamentals of community service. activities at JQUS. All students are expected to complete xxxxx xx Root Canal • Medical and nutrition students the course prior to undertaking their lead cooking lessons with children community service. at the Red Oak After-School To ensure the quality of the experi- Program. The program is run by the ence for both the students and the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood organizations served, the Medical Center in partnership with the School utilized a community service Friedman School of Nutrition and learning coordinator to help facilitate Jumbo’s Kitchen. projects and track outreach efforts. • T ufts medical students support Medical students can choose where the Castle Square Tenants to perform volunteer hours and many Organizations’s LOTUS project do so in the local community. through health screenings and tutoring at the Teen Center. COMMUNITY SUPPORT Through financial contributions and memberships, Tufts helps to support a range of vibrant Chinatown organizations, including: the Asian Community Development Corporation, the Asian American Resource Workshop, the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Chinatown Main Streets, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the Chinese Historical Society of New England, and the Wang YMCA of Chinatown.

TUFTS NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE FUND (TNSF) More than $60,000 in small grants has been given to Chinatown non-profits since 1996. TNSF is a giving option within Tufts’ annual Community Appeal. The university encourages employees to contribute to the charitable organizations of their choice and covers all the costs so that every dollar donated goes directly to charity. TNSF awards grants to community-based charitable organizations Preschoolers take a hands-on approach to learning. that serve Tufts communities and engage Tufts volunteers in their work. Recent TNSF grants were awarded to the following Chinatown organizations: The RISE Project • 8centric • Asian American Civic Association, Inc. The Readiness through Integrative supported by a team of 11 graduate and • Boston Asian: Youth Essential Services Science and Engineering (RISE) project undergraduate Tufts Research Assistants • Greater Boston Chinese is creating preschool curriculum resources who primarily volunteer in the classrooms. Golden Age Center for dual-language learners (DLLs) in The Tufts team provides a combined • Josiah Quincy science, technology and engineering 80 hours across all classrooms per week. Elementary School (STE). The primary goal is to improve With the growing population of DLL • Ricesticks and Tea school readiness for DLL children by children and the recognition that early • Wang YMCA of Chinatown strengthening connections between home childhood education in STE makes and school and by fostering positive significant contributions to children’s approaches to learning through hands-on education, this project has the potential CHINATOWN AGENCIES STE content. for national impact. USING TUFTS FACILITIES Participants include teachers, families, Chinatown organizations can take advantage and children in pre-K programs in East of Tufts facilities for event and meeting Boston and Chinatown areas of Boston. space. While there are not any rental fees, The project team will develop integra- charges for additional services may apply. tive STE curriculum materials that will Recent users include: the Asian American be published at the end of the project. Civic Association, the Boston Chinese 57 The project is funded through grants from Evangelical Church, and the Josiah Quincy the National Science Foundation and the Upper School. Brady Education Foundation for three years, from 2012–2015. Tufts students are highly involved, with three doctoral students working as the SOMERVILLE primary research assistants. They are CHINATOWN E N

L TUFTS GIVES BACK L W I

O Addressing Disparities in Populations Goal: A Healthier Community V T

R Through Translational Research (ADAPT) A E is an initiative to connect researchers, The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy is the only graduate school N I M administrators, service providers, and of nutrition in the United States. Its students and faculty are involved in many H O community partners to work together S C outreach activities in the Chinatown community. and address Asian health disparities in 68 the Boston area. One of the current Josiah Quincy School Garden Program: programs, “Building Your Capacity,” The Agriculture, Food and provides training and education Environment (AFE) Program at the that supports the participation of Friedman School has embraced the community-based organizations in school garden movement and partnered community engaged research projects with the Josiah Quincy Elementary in Chinatown. School (JQES) to explore the benefits Initially, community partners were of garden-based learning. AFE students involved in the studies as research present interactive garden and nutrition- Jumbo’s Kitchen: Jumbo’s Kitchen participants. As Tufts’ engagement based lessons for the third-graders. works with underserved populations grew, those agencies became key teaching basic cooking skills, promoting During the 2012-2013 school year, players in research partnerships. an understanding of sound nutrition, 14 Nutrition students contributed When ADAPT was introduced in 2011, and empowering children to prepare there were two community-based 150 hours of service as a part of the healthy foods in a fun and interactive organizations at the table; this grew program. The Friedman-Quincy part- environment. This year, Jumbo’s to five partners in the first year. nership provides graduate students a Kitchen formed a new partnership with chance to gain experience in garden- Since ADAPT was formed it has the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood based instruction. Ultimately, the provided consultation and letters of Center and is now serving students in partnership hopes to contribute knowl- support for fifteen grant applications kindergarten through 5th grade. Each focused on studying Asian health and edge about the value of school gardens week, volunteers from the Friedman promoting new academic and as well as design a curriculum guide School, along with the School of community research partnerships, geared to the needs of school teachers. Medicine students, provide local including: Chinatown Tour: A walking tour of the students with a nutrition lesson focused • Funding a study to research obesity neighborhood, including historical and on a portion of MyPlate, a cooking in Chinese families. contemporary information on development, lesson with recipes, and tasting sessions. • Forming a partnership to conduct gentrification and the history of Chinese Jumbo’s Kitchen remains committed to a community-driven health needs settlement in the area, took place last Fall. strengthening the relationship between assessment of Chinatown residents. The tour was sponsored by the Friedman Tufts and the Chinatown community, Justice League and hosted by the Chinese • An additional partnership includes consistent with the Friedman School’s Progressive Association. researchers interested in patient mission of education and dissemination navigation and community partners of information. interested in the study of cancer. Project ADAPT and its research team have no plans of slowing down. It has evolved into a partnership that brings together different stakeholders in ways that promote co-learning and collaboration. TUFTS RECYCLES: PUTTING REFURBISHED COMPUTERS TO GOOD USE The Tufts Computer Donation Program collects, refurbishes and donates unused Tufts-owned computers that are less than four years old to non-profits serving Chinatown, Grafton, and Medford/Somerville. Since the program’s inception in 2012, about Caption copy to come two dozen computers and laptops have been donated to agencies in Chinatown. “Our teens needed simple editing tools downloaded free from the Internet more than Microsoft Office. The computers Active Students are exactly what we need. And the flat screen monitors just made our day. The teens and staff were thrilled,” said as Active Citizens Boston Asian YES Executive Director Jane Leung. “Thank you so much for The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service is a national leader thinking of Boston Asian YES. We so in civic education, preparing young people to be lifelong active citizens. Chinatown appreciate the donation of much has a strong relationship with Tisch College through its research projects and student needed technology equipment. The teens said ‘Thanks!’.” community outreach efforts.

Generation Citizen with underage possession and use of “Never doubt that a small group of tobacco products. thoughtful, committed citizens can change The Tufts GC chapter hopes to teach the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that JQUS students the importance of ever has.” Cultural anthropologist Margaret being civically engaged. Mead’s words are particularly relevant to the efforts of the Tufts chapter of the A glimpse of college life Generation Citizen program. In the Fall of 2013, 50 ninth-graders from the JQUS School toured the Tufts’ Generation Citizen (GC) is a national non- Medford/Somerville campus, spoke to at school. Tisch Scholar Alyssa profit that teaches “action civics” in the admissions officers, visited culture Wohlfahrt and Dr. Naomi Steiner, a classroom. College students are trained as houses, were treated to an a capella developmental-behavioral democracy coaches who work in classrooms performance, and spent time with pediatrician at Boston’s Floating to organize students around issues in their current undergraduates. The visit was Hospital for Children and director of communities. The Tufts chapter, led by organized by AmeriCorps VISTA the Center for Mind-Body Pediatric Tisch Scholar Benjamin Berman, successfully (Volunteer in Service to America) Research at Tufts Medical Center, expanded into Chinatown in 2013. representatives at Tisch College with have partnered with the Josiah During the Fall semester the Tufts GC help from the Tufts Asian American Quincy Elementary School (JQES). chapter met weekly in three classes at the Alliance and the First Generation Another Tisch Scholar, Craig Josiah Quincy Upper School (JQUS). Six College Student Council. Cooper, joined Wohlfahrt and Dr. 79 Tufts students taught in those classrooms, The Calm Breathing Project Steiner’s head research assistant to working on thought-provoking projects The Calm Breathing and Relaxation visit JQES to work with groups of with about 70 JQUS students. Project is helping to improve medical students, teaching them how to One class studied teen smoking and understanding and treatment of breathe calmly and discuss when to discussed potential ways to encourage state children with emotional and behavioral use these techniques in their daily lawmakers to enact legislation that would disorders by reducing their stress and lives to reduce stress. support additional penalties associated anxiety, and helping them to succeed CHINATOWN E N L Medford/Somerville Campus Continues L W I O V T

R Its Support of Josiah Quincy School A E N I M The students and academic departments on the Medford/Somerville campus are H O no strangers to Josiah Quincy School students. S C 82 The Asian American Alliance (AAA) undergraduate student group partners with the Josiah Quincy School (JQUS) on multiple outreach efforts. AAA brings about 60 Chinatown youth to the Medford/Somerville campus for the annual Hallow- een on the Hill event in October, and Kids Day in April. AAA also organizes a college awareness day for ninth-graders from the JQUS. Most recently, AAA started a mentoring program where one Tufts student is matched with a ninth- or tenth-grader at JQUS. Most meetings take place in Chinatown, and include activities like mentoring, meeting and attending movies together.

The Chemistry Department hosted 15 Advanced Placement (AP) sophomores from the JQUS in June 2013. The tour included visits to four of the research labs in the Pearson Chemistry Building, the Organic Chemistry teaching lab where the students were shown classic chemistry demos, including the eruption of an ammonium dichromate volcano and the burning of lycopodium powder. The tour ended with a visit to the campus center where undergraduates answered students’ questions about college.

Contact Information Free Healthcare Clinic Tufts Neighbors Page http: // tufts.edu/home/neighbors Tuesdays, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm Tufts Directory 617.627.5000 First Church in Malden Office of Community Relations 617.627.3780 184 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148 Tufts Police (non-emergency line) 617.627.3030 781.324.8991 Tufts Website http: // tufts.edu sharewood.tufts.edu Dental Clinics The Sharewood Project is a free healthcare clinic that offers care to medically Tufts University School of Dental Medicine underserved populations from the greater Boston area. Sharewood is staffed 1 Kneeland Street Boston, MA 02111 617.636.6828 by volunteer physicians and medical students affiliated with the Tufts Health http://dental.tufts.edu/patient-care/ Sciences Schools. All services are free and open to the public. Translation Tufts Dental Clinics offer a full range of high quality general, specialty, services are provided in many languages, including Mandarin and Cantonese. and emergency dental care at lower fees than private dental practices.