For the Small Fry

Opportunity to give one's social conscience brisk exercise appears in the call for volunteers issued this week by Phillips Brooks House. Appealing for undergraduates to man local settlement houses, the Social Service Committee paints a picture of worthwhile experience to be gained-and an urgent present need for manpower. Although one-hundred and three Harvardmen trek each week to congested districts in Boston for brief sessions with young people's groups, and unlimited number could be promptly placed; the more children can be brought in from the streets.

Restricted by a lack of funds in many instances, the settlement houses are for the most part unable to hire the bulk of their staff and must depend upon volunteers. Of thirty-five houses in the Greater Boston area, there are twenty-six at the present time with a shortage of personnel and a curtailed program to match. This gap can well be filled in large part by students who can spare two hours weekly.

The only requirement demanded by PBH is a real and sincere interest in the problems of youth. Ranging from sports and handicrafts through discussion clubs and dramatics, the choice of activities for which leaders are continually requested is wide indeed. Unlike some extracurricular enterprises, this one is not a tenacious time-consumer. Moreover, in order to utilize the services of those unable to assume responsibility on a scheduled basis, the Social Service Committee plans an optional "call bureau" which will channel escorts to contingents of small fry eager for rodeos, circuses, and other special events. Two hundred men offered their assistance regularly in pre-war year-when the College student body totalled only 3500. Three hundred should be a moderately proportional figure for 1947.