The DREAM Program, Putnam Gardens, January 2014

dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram

The Village Mentoring Organization

The Putnam Gardens DREAM Update January 2014 The Putnam Gardens Program is off to a great start. The mentors are excited to be back and plan to do a strong recruitment push this spring. They came back ready to hit the ground running and are already focusing on ways they can better deliver purposeful programming to their mentees.

DREAM Programming: 

1/31 (7 mentees, 7 mentors): To kick off the semester the group held one-on-one programming. Activities included doing origami, going to a show at the Omni Theater at the science museum, baking a cake, playing games, and talking about plans for this semester.

Program Development:  

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Constitution: During their first meeting of the semester the mentors voted on changes to their constitution. This mainly consisted of solidifying position descriptions for the treasurer, secretary, recruitment co-chairs, and co-chairs.

Recruitment: The program co-chairs, recruitment co-chairs, and myself met after their first meeting to devise a strategy for recruitment this semester. The mentors will be flyering as well as reaching out directly to interested parties. The goal is to have mentors recruited and part of the program by the end of February.

Matching: The two mentees that the unmatched mentors from last semester were going to match with have started an after school activity on Fridays. We are reassessing steps for matching them. They will be matched by the end of February. The program has brought on one new youth. He will either be matched with one of the unmatched mentors or one of the new mentors we are recruiting.

In the meantime he will be attending group programming and participating in small groups during one-on-one weeks.

Collaboration: 

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Workforce: Jason and I met with Nora Goodwin, the site coordinator at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, in early January. We discussed ways DREAM can support our youth involved in Workforce. Additionally, one of our mentors attended the Shield of Honor presentation at CRLS to see her mentee.

Putnam Management Office: I met with Jennifer Gooding at Putnam to discuss ways that DREAM can have a larger presence in the community. Specifically, we

dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram

The Village Mentoring Organization

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discussed ways the program could possibly plan a service project in the community. Additionally, she helped me update our waitlist of interested youth.

Cambridge Community Center: I also met with David Gibbs, LaTashia Pogue, and Darrin Korte to discuss a possible community service project collaboration with the CCC. We also discussed ways that DREAM and the CCC can work together to better support our families in Putnam Gardens.

DREAM Office: 

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Teen Program: This month I began met with teens from our Putnam Gardens and Somerville Housing Authority programs. I talked with them about my ideas for the teen program and received feedback and ideas from them. In February I will be meeting with all mentors of teens to gather additional input. I plan to have a Teen DREAM activity for all SHA and Putnam teen matches in March. In the meantime, I will be working with individual matches to help them plan programming to meet the youth’s interests.

DREAMstock: DREAM staff has been diligently planning DREAMstock, DREAM’s annual mentor training, which is scheduled for Saturday, February 22nd at the Tierney Learning Center in South Boston. All mentors from the five Boston programs will be expected to attend for a day of workshops and networking. Workshop topics will include: cultural competency, age-specific mentoring, building and sustaining relationships with families, and purposeful programming.

South Boston Local Program: University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston has been selected as the partner school for our new community in South Boston: Old Colony. Mentor recruitment has begun and will continue into February.

Teen Employment Guide: The teen employment guide is being revised and will be given out in February. The DREAM Office will be hosting optional office hours for those interested in receiving more assistance with resumes or applying to jobs within the city.

Youth Mentoring Day at the State House: DREAM office staff attended the Youth Mentoring Day at the State House. This day was a great day to network with fellow supporters of mentoring programs and initiatives in Massachusetts.

Northeastern Martin Luther King Day of Service: Jason, Rachel; and I attended Northeastern University’s Martin Luther King Day of Service. Co-run by Massachusetts Promise Fellowship and Northeastern’s Center of Community Service, it was a fun day filled with workshops and volunteering.

Keep DREAMing!

Katie Purcell

dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram

The Village Mentoring Organization

Program Empowerment Director Mass Promise Fellow/Americorps Katie@dreamprogram.org