The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

in the United States, that was established in 1940 as one of the many fellowships created in developed countries to support the work of

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schweit ...

at the

Hôpital Albert Schweitzer The Hôpital Albert Schweitzer was established in 1913 by Albert Schweitzer and Helene Bresslau Schweitzer in Lambaréné, Gabon. History Albert Schweitzer opened a hospital in 1913 in Lambaréné in what was then French Equatorial Africa that b ...

in present-day

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

; these fellowships were coordinated by the Association Internationale de l'oeuvre du docteur Albert Schweitzer de Lambaréné (AISL), which also oversaw the hospital. It subsequently expanded its focus to supporting Schweitzer Fellows, primarily graduate students, as they partner with community-based organizations to develop and implement year-long, mentored service projects that meet the health needs of underserved populations. There are 250 Schweitzer Fellows selected annually across 13 U.S. cities and the Albert Schweitzer Hospital. Each fellow is responsible for personally volunteering hundreds of hours of service. The alumni group of fellows is known as the Schweitzer Fellows for Life. The Fellowship's central office is hosted at

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Massachusetts is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital (founded in 1916) and New England Deaconess Hospital (founded ...

, the official sister hospital of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital. The Fellowship also administers the

Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism The Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism is a prize given to people who made exemplary contributions to humanity and the environment. The goal of the prize is to advance the cause of humanitarianism. The prize was established in 1986 by Al ...

on behalf of Schweitzer Fellows for Life. Recent recipients include former U.S. Surgeon General

David Satcher David Satcher, (born March 2, 1941) is an American physician, and public health administrator. He was a four-star admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the 10th Assistant Secretary for Health, and t ...

(2009) and community health center founder

H. Jack Geiger Herman J. Geiger (November 11, 1925 – December 28, 2020), known as H. Jack Geiger, was an American physician and civil rights activist. He was a leader in the field of social medicine, the philosophy that doctors had a responsibility to treat ...

References

{{Authority control Charities based in Massachusetts Non-profit organizations based in Boston 1940 establishments in the United States Health charities in the United States Medical and health organizations based in Massachusetts