The DREAM Program, Inc. 41 Dearborn St. Roxbury, MA 02119 (617) 699-8408 tel www.dreamprogram.org
April 17th, 2012
The Madison Park Village DREAM Update March 2012 March was shortened by Northeastern Spring Break, but the group crammed three great Fridays of programming into the last half of the month. 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. 3/16 (28 mentors, 28 youth): One-on-one and small group programming including, games on the big field on Columbus Ave., games in the Fens, a trip to the dining hall, and a tea party. 3/23 (25 mentors, 26 youth): One-on-one and small group programming, including playing on the playgrounds around the Northeastern campus, and making music videos. 3/30 (attendance was not recorded): The program broke up into small groups and each had their own scavenger hunt. Programming beyond Fridays: 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 one example is a mentor taking his mentee and another DREAMer to the Museum of Science on Sunday, March 11th. Fundraising: The MPV DREAM program partnered with Uno’s Pizzeria to hold a fundraiser on Thursday, March 29th. Fifteen percent of the sales from the night went to benefit the MPV DREAM program. Community Collaboration: Dudley/Roxbury Corridor Safety Task Force: Jessica and I attended the Dudley/Roxbury Corridor Safety Task Force meeting on March 26th at the Madison Park Village. Be Safe Training: Sandy Mervack, DREAM’s Development Director, Jessica and I attended the second of a two part training put on by Be Safe and sponsored by the Massachusetts Promise Fellowship on March 30th. We discussed different messages we send within our organizations, and ways to build strong organizational policies. We then wrote a social media policy for DREAM and received feedback on it from other organizations in the training. DREAM Office:
DREAM Staff retreat: Jessica and I spent March 5th and 6th in Vermont with our northern coworkers at an all staff retreat. It was a great time for us to reflect on the year so far, collaborate on larger organizational wide projects, and plan for the future. Massachusetts Promise Fellowship: DREAM has been granted an AmeriCorps Massachusetts Promise Fellow for the upcoming academic year (August-July). Jessica will be departing in August, and the new Fellow will continue the great work that she has done this year along with a couple of new yearlong projects. Regional Director: We continued our search for a Regional Director for the Boston DREAM office. Summer Community Interns: Hiring for our Summer Community Interns continued.
Keep DREAMing! Chad Butt, Boston Programs Director