Building Robust & Inclusive Democracy

Leonard Carmichael Society

About LCS

The Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) is the largest student-run community service organization at Tufts University. LCS operates as an umbrella group for more than twenty service-oriented sub-groups. We also work alongside the Tisch College of Civic Life and our neighboring communities of Medford, Somerville, and Greater Boston to challenge students to adapt a meaningful view of service and become civically engaged with the world around them.

About LCS

The Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) is the largest student-run community service organization at Tufts University. LCS operates as an umbrella group for more than twenty service-oriented sub-groups. We also work alongside the Tisch College of Civic Life and our neighboring communities of Medford, Somerville, and Greater Boston to challenge students to adapt a meaningful view of service and become civically engaged with the world around them.

How to Get Involved

Check out our subgroups

Our sub-groups typically accept new members at the start of each semester. Some of our sub-groups recruit new members through an application process. Reach out if you have any questions, we can direct you to each sub-group’s primary point of contact and check out the drop downs below for more information. Challenge yourself to meet new people!

Join the LCS Executive Board

The Executive Board oversees the logistics, publicity, and budget of our sub-groups. We do all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into the successful execution of our subgroups and their amazing service. Applications to join the LCS Executive Board are released at the beginning of each semester. There are spots reserved for first-years; you do not need prior LCS experience to apply!

Share your ideas with us

If you are an organization or non-profit looking for volunteers, reach out to us! We are always looking for new service opportunities to share with our students. We are open to all and any feedback about what we can do better! Check out the contact us page to message us with anything. Or come to a club meeting to meet us in person.

Come to our events

Check out our Google Calendar to see our events open to Tufts students and come connect with us!

LCS Subgroups

  • ACTION stands for Advancing Civic Thought In Our Nation is a student-run organization which aims to promote youth civic action and engagement in the greater Boston Area.        

    Email ACTION    ACTION Instagram

  • Animal Aid pairs students with dogs in Medford and Somerville to walk on a weekly basis.    Walkers are assigned at the beginning of each semester!   

    Email Animal Aid   Animal Aid Instagram     

  • BRIDGE (Building Relationships, Inclusion and Disability Greater Education) works with Somerville and Medford high school to build relationships through inclusion and disability greater education.       

    Email BRIDGE    BRIDGE Instagram 

  • Cancer Outreach is a student-led organization that strives to raise cancer awareness, fundraise for patients and families, and lead related volunteer opportunities. Students have volunteered at Hope Lodge and the Jimmy Fund Walk.         

    Email Cancer Outreach  Cancer Outreach Instagram     

  • The College Access Mentoring Initiative empowers underrepresented identities to envision themselves at 4-year institutions and colleges.     

    Applications open at the beginning of each school year.    

    Email CAMI    CAMI Instagram  

  • DREAM (Directing through Recreation, Education, Adventure and Mentorship) works with children in the Somerville Housing Authority to create meaningful relationships and bring enrichment, academic support, mentoring, and adventures to at-promise youth.

    Applications open at the beginning of each semester.   

    Email DREAM     DREAM Instagram 

  • Tufts ESL partners with an organization called English at Large to teach weekly lessons in English as a second language to a class of adult leaders from the Medford area.         

    Email Tufts ESL 

  • Tufts Food Rescue is dedicated to retrieving food from local grocery stores and dining halls and delivering it to nearby donation centers in the Greater Boston area.

    Look out for volunteer opportunity sign-ups throughout the semester!   

    Email Food Rescue    Food Rescue Instagram 

  • Girs Scouts empowers young girls by building confidence, leadership, skills, and community. 

    Email Tufts Girl Scouts

  • Girls Inc champions the aspirations and potential of young girls in the local communities of Medford and Somerville through connection, friendship, and mentorship.

    Applications open at the beginning of each semester!    

    Email Girls Inc. Tufts   Girls Inc. Instagram

  • Tufts Giving Camp is a group dedicated to adult advocacy and works closely with the Walnut Street Center.        

    Email Tufts Giving Camp    Tufts Giving Camp Instagram 

  • Habitat for Humanity helps build a world where everyone has a decent place to call home.     Look out for H4H build sign ups!    

    Email Tufts H4H     Tufts H4H Instagram 

  • HOME encourages students to think critically about the causes and solutions to homelessness and food insecurity. HOME also seeks to engage Tufts students in civic engagement and service with unhoused and low-income communities in Somerville, Medford, Boston, and the greater Boston area. This goal is met in a variety of ways, but primarily through organizing group volunteer trips to homeless shelters, food pantries, and soup kitchens with which HOME partners.

    Look out for volunteer opportunity sign ups throughout the semester!    

    Email HOME    HOME Instagram 

  • Tufts Legacy Project is dedicated to documenting and preserving the stories of the elder generation. Students create meaningful intergenerational connections through weekly visits to Medford Rehabilitation Center, forming connections with residents and documenting their stories. 

    Email Legacy Project     Legacy Project Instagram 

  • Tufts Junior Jumbos pairs Tufts student volunteers with preschoolers at Bright Horizons in Teele Square.       

    Email Junior Jumbos     Junior Jumbos Instagram 

  • Kids in Nutrition is dedicated to empowering the younger generation to lead healthy lives through nutrition and sustainability education.

    Applications open at the beginning of each semester!   

    Email KIN    KIN Instagram     

  • LCS Tutors connects Tufts students with Medford and Somerville K-12 students in need of free tutoring in a wide range of subjects.

    Applications open at the beginning of each semester!   

    Email LCS Tutors   LCS Tutors Instagram 

  • Tufts Period fights for systemic change towards menstrual equity while serving those in need. 

    Email Tufts Period   Tufts Period Instagram            

  • Project Linus creates homemade blankets for children in hospitals and/or shelters. Their new, washable blankets are given as gifts to children in need.

    Email Project Linus     Project Linus Instagram             

  • Project Sunshine brightens children’s days during hospital days through creative play and sunshine activity kits.         

    Email Project Sunshine     Project Sunshine Instagram 

  • Tufts After School Tutoring and Enrichment operates with the Mystic Learning Center in Somerville, MA, to pair Tufts students with local kids for one-on-one and group mentorship.        

    Email TASTE 

  • Thirst Project fundraises for Water for South Sudan, as well as participating in local community service related to the environment and water crisis.       

    Email Thirst Project     Thirst Project Instagram

  • Founded in 1987, Traveling Treasure Trunk is a children’s theater troupe that blends theater with community service, performing free shows at daycares, hospitals, and preschools in the greater Boston area.

    Auditions hosted at the beginning of each semester!   

    Email Traveling Treasure Trunk     Traveling Treasure Trunk Instagram 

History

Founded in 1958 by Richard Dorsay, the idea of the Leonard Carmichael Society emerged from a group of students who would make regular visits to Metropolitan State Hospital in Waltham. During the 1960s, LCS flourished with over 1,000 volunteers, and was featured on the cover of Life Magazine. In the 1970s, membership dwindled to 15 members. However, the organization began to regain popularity in the 1980s and even more so in the 1990s. Today, more than sixty five years since its founding, LCS has expanded its programs, services, and opportunities to a point never before seen in its history with our 20+ subgroups. 

LCS leadership poses for photo in Breed Memorial Hall in matching light blue tshirts
LCS leadership team poses outside of Ballou Hall on Tufts campus

Through community service, we challenge ourselves to see the world through different perspectives, engage with our local communities, and actively commit to building a more equitable, kind, and just world for all. As part of LCS, students are able to pursue a diverse range of community service projects (or even, create their own!) on both a local and regional scale. Whether it be stitching blankets, fundraising for water quality, operating mentorship and tutoring programs, or putting on theater shows for children, we hope to make community service more accessible and achievable for everyone. 

LCS logo depicts a dark blue elephant with a pink heart on a yellow background

Contact LCS

Barnum Hall LL06
163 Packard Ave, 
Medford MA 02155

Email LCSLCS Instagram

For more specific concerns, please reach out to the appropriate E-Board member.