The DREAM Program, Inc. 41 Dearborn St. Roxbury, MA 02119 (617) 699-8408 tel www.dreamprogram.org
March 14th, 2012
The Madison Park Village DREAM Update February 2012 The Madison Park DREAM Program had a great February full of fun filled Friday programming. DREAM Programming: Programming has continued to happen in small groups and one-on-one pairings to accommodate the wide age range of youth in the program and their variety of interests. 2/3 (26 mentors, 29 youth): One-on-one and small group programming, building marshmallow and pretzel structures, and making ice cream and silly putty. 2/10 (25 mentors, 26 youth): One-on-one and small group programming, ice skating, making Valentines, and visiting the Children’s Museum. 2/17 (22 mentors, 25 youth): One-on-one and small group programming, exploring the Prudential Center and going to the Children’s Museum. 2/24 (25 mentors, 25 youth): One-on-one and small group programming, going to the dining hall, visiting the MFA, making graham cracker houses, and going to the Children’s Museum. Programming Opportunities: Shamrock Dreams: This month we had 3 matches attend Celtics games. It is great way for matches to strengthen their relationship and spend some quality time together outside of regular DREAM programming. Ski Trip: On February 5th 22 DREAMers from Orchard Gardens and Madison Park Village and 10 mentors from Northeastern and BU had the amazing opportunity to go skiing at Killington Mountain in Vermont. Each mentee fundraised $20 to participate, which covered a lift ticket, ski or snowboard rental, and an introductory lesson. Our instructors were stellar, and even stayed with the beginners after the lessons ended as we hit the slopes. The trip was co-planned by a Madison Park teen, and we are excited to see more teens step up and plan exciting program opportunities in the future! A special thanks to Killington Mountain for providing DREAM with a great package deal and Mass Housing for providing transportation. Additional Programming: Mentors continue to go above and beyond, meeting with their mentees outside of regular weekly DREAM programming. We don’t track all of these extra programming endeavors, but an example of one is two mentors took one of the mentees and the mentee’s mother to the aquarium on a Sunday. Community Collaboration: Dudley/Roxbury Corridor Safety Task Force: I attended the Dudley/Roxbury Corridor Safety Task Force meeting on February 27rd at the B-2 police station.
Be Safe Training: Sandy Mervack, DREAM’s Development Director and I attended the first of a two part training put on by Be Safe and sponsored by the Massachusetts Promise Fellowship on February 10th. The training focused on helping us check in with our personal beliefs and compare those to DREAM’s policies and procedures, to ensure that we are creating a safe and supportive environment within our programs. We also learned about resources available to both our youth and us as youth workers which can be used to support and enhance our program.
DREAM Office: Regional Director: We are excited to announce that we are currently seeking a Regional Director for the Boston DREAM office. The job description can be found at www.dreamprogram.org. If you know of anyone who would be interested and qualified please pass this along. Summer Community Interns: Hiring for our Summer Community Interns has started and the job description can be found on our website as well. Keep DREAMing! Chad Butt, Boston Programs Director