Quotation Mark

“The interior joy we feel when we have done a good deed, when we feel we have been needed somewhere and have lent a helping hand, is the nourishment the soul requires.” —Albert Schweitzer

About Us

Founded in the Fall of 2006, the San Francisco Bay Area Fellows Program is one of thirteen currently active Schweitzer program sites across the U. S. dedicated to developing a pipeline of emerging professionals who enter the workforce with the skills and commitment necessary to address unmet health needs. Bay Area Schweitzer Fellows are competitively chosen from graduate students enrolled at major universities throughout the area. They come from a variety of academic disciplines and as Schweitzer Fellows, they work tirelessly to address existing health disparities throughout the region.

Our Impact

Since 2007, almost 200 Schweitzer Fellows have already provided more than 36,000 hours of service to the Bay Area’s most vulnerable communities.  Partnering with over 125 community-based organizations in 8 Bay Area counties, these Fellows have addressed a wide variety of unmet health needs by creating and carrying out yearlong projects with direct service at their core.  Examples include the following initiatives created by past Fellows:

  • a women’s mental health support group at a San Francisco homeless shelter
  • mindfulness trainings for children and formerly incarcerated individuals
  • wellness programs for children and adults
  • health education and peer training for incarcerated women
  • medication adherence programs
  • sexual health education for low-income seniors
  • skin cancer, vision screenings and referral programs for Latino day laborers
  • vision and oral screenings and referrals for special populations with limited access to care
  • a Hepatitis B Free Clinic to provide free testing, vaccination, treatment and education for low income, uninsured Asians and Pacific Islanders
  • development of new ways to increase screening results for colon cancer
  • support services for long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS
  • medical care and social services for the homeless
  • programs that aim to raise scientific competency among low income students who have traditionally underperformed in the natural sciences
  • concussion awareness for school children, teaches and coaches
  • school readiness programs for children 0-5
  • development of community gardens in low income school districts
  • oral health instruction and care for developmentally challenged children

For a complete listing of past and present Fellows’ service projects please see Fellows and Projects. At the end of the initial Fellowship year, Fellows carry their commitment to meeting the health needs of underserved people forward as members of the national and international Schweitzer Fellows for Life alumni network, now more than 4,000 strong. The San Francisco Bay Area program is funded entirely by charitable donations and grants from our generous sponsors. Your gift will help make a difference in the lives of those most in need in our communities.