The promise of free food might have lured them in, but—at a dinner sponsored by the College’s public service center—it was the chance to serve their communities that made them stay, attendees said.

Harvard’s Center for Public Interest Careers (CPIC), an organization geared towards offering students internships and fellowships in the field of public service, sponsored the buffet-style dinner yesterday evening in an effort to attract applicants.

“We wanted to celebrate a summer of service for the CPIC interns and also spread the word about CPIC,” said Travis A. Lovett, the group’s assistant coordinator.

About 40 students mingled in a dimly lit room at John Harvard’s Brew House on Dunster Street, feasting on chicken fingers, colorful tortilla chips, and raw vegetables with dip. Lovett said face-to-face outreach like this would help spread the word about CPIC.

Out of the 127 students who applied for public work opportunities through the center last year, 23 undergraduates received summer internship positions and 24 received post-graduate fellowships, said CPIC Coordinator Amanda S. Glynn.

The center might also have other reasons to celebrate. It was awarded a $100,000 grant by the Heckscher Foundation for Children, a New York-based organization that promotes child welfare, according to Glynn. The grant will fund the CPIC Fund for Service Internship program, which provides 10 students with a $3,500 stipend, housing, and an internship in New York this summer.

Cora E. Yamamoto ’75, the Washington, D.C. area coordinator for CPIC, said that when she was an undergraduate at the College, students who were interested in public service careers were out of luck.

“There was no special interest network. You had to really look for these jobs on your own,” she said.

Today, students like Frankie Chen ’07 can get their feet wet working for the government or non-profits. Chen, who interned at the New York Department of Education this summer, created a “tool kit” for parents that was distributed throughout the public education system.

According to Nick Beilenson ’58, CPIC founder and New York City area coordinator that graduated from the Law School in 1961, “Because you don’t make as much money in not-for-profits, you get a lot of responsibility much more quickly.”

And the notion that Harvard students forsake public service for high-salary investment banking positions is a myth, according to Daniella T. Gilbert ’09. She interned at San Francisco-based Bay Area Youth Fund for Education, a group committed to assisting high school students graduate and become the first in their families to go to college, this summer.

“Sure, there are people who will take the corporate path,” she said, “but not without an awareness of public service.”