Associate Research Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Gary Ybarra scours his sources to find surplus computer equipment for a number of local schools. Other Duke staffers tutor kids in reading. And Ronen Plesser, an associate professor of physics with five children in the Durham public schools, works with DPS teachers to make science come alive.

"It is hard to describe the light in a child's face when she figures something out, or the scream when she sees the rings of Saturn for the first time, or the slow grin of the 'class dolt' who prepared for a nap as soon as someone said 'science' but found himself not only excited but learning," Ronen says.

Any Duke faculty member or employee can help Durham residents through the Neighborhood Partnership. You can use your job skills or treat the partnership an opportunity to contribute in an entirely different way.

We welcome you to look over the partnership's neighborhood priorities and suggest ways you'd like to help. Here is one ready-made opportunity:

• Include a service learning component if you teach academic courses. To find out how, contact David Malone with the Office of Service Learning at (919) 660 3075.

Get started: contact Sam Miglarese at sam.miglarese@duke.edu or David Stein at dstein@duke.edu