Infrastructure for teaching and learning in the community: Johns Hopkins University Student Outreach Resource Center (SOURCE)

As health professional schools strive to offer students meaningful, structured community engagement activities, various support structures are needed. In 2005, Johns Hopkins University's Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health launched the interdisciplinary community service and service-learning center, Student Outreach Resource Center (SOURCE), which operates through reciprocal partnerships between the Hopkins schools and local community-based organizations. SOURCE is recognized on campus and in the Baltimore community for its ability to recruit and prepare students to collaborate with local partners on a wide range of practice initiatives, through both curricular and cocurricular offerings. This article describes SOURCE's history and formation, process for creating authentic partnerships, services and programs, governance, and lessons learned. In a short period of time and with a modest financial investment, the expertise and infrastructure provided by SOURCE have greatly benefited both the participating community-based organizations and the Johns Hopkins health professional schools.