Phillips Brooks House Association

In 1900, Harvard College students established Phillips Brooks House in recognition of the late Reverend Phillips Brooks, a graduate of the university. Four years later, six Harvard student organizations organized themselves as the Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA). Today, PBHA is a robust independent nonprofit organization run by students and the largest public service organization affiliated with Harvard.

Each year, PBHA harnesses the power of 1,500 volunteers who team up with community partners to oversee more than 80 social service and social action programs that serve in-need youth and adults in greater Boston. Programs include advocacy, afterschool/in-school, health, housing, and mentoring services, bound by a shared commitment to a community-based approach, social justice, and diversity. PBHA alumni have gone on to found their own nonprofit organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union.