The DREAM Program, Somerville HA, December-February, 2012-2013

dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram

The Village Mentoring Organization

The SHA DREAM Update 2nd Quarter Report 2012-2013 Program Year (December-February) The SHA DREAM Program ended the Fall Semester with an engaging and fun Culminating Experience. It was so popular that the mentees are still talking about it three months later. The Tufts mentors returned to campus after Winter Break eager to startup the new semester of DREAM. Although the snow in February temporarily impeded a week of Friday activities, the Clarendon Hill youth and Tufts mentors participated in educational and interesting activities throughout the start of the new semester.

DREAM Weekly activities: DREAM Weekly activities happen every Friday afternoon that the Tufts’ mentors are on campus and in classes.  12/07: The SHA DREAM Program ended the Fall Semester with a Culminating Experience. The program held a movie night in a Tufts’ lecture hall, where they watched How to Train Your Dragon and ate food generously donated by Chipotle.  01/25: This week’s activities occurred as a large group on campus. The group had hot chocolate, played tag and other group games, and made paper cutouts.  02/01: A couple of matches participated in one-on-one activities in the Clarendon Hill community. The other matches went back to campus and participated in small group activities including: ping pong, board games, watching a Tufts Women’s Basketball game, dancing, and making crafts for Valentine’s Day.  02/08: DREAM was cancelled for this week due to the snowstorm.  02/15: There were four main activities for this Friday. The group split into small groups and played whiffleball, had fun in the snow, played tag, or went into Davis Square for smoothies.  02/22: Younger mentees either went on a DREAM logo scavenger hunt or watched a movie. The older youth participated in one-on-one programming.

DREAM Participants:  Mentors: There are currently 24 active DREAM mentors.  Youth: Currently, there are 18 youth who participate in school-year DREAM. This includes the three additional mentees that were added in January. There is

41 Dearborn St., Roxbury, MA 02119 | (617) 699-8408 | boston@dreamprogram.org

space for three more youth and we are actively working to recruit more participants.

Program Development:  New Mentee Additions: The younger siblings of two mentees and another youth that had previously expressed interest in DREAM were welcomed into the program.  New Mentor Matches: There were seven new mentor matches created his quarter.  New Secretary Elected: Ngan Nguyen was elected as the new secretary for the Spring Semester.  Mentee Spotlight: Jose Beriguete performed in the Somerville High School’s production of The Wizard of Oz at the Somerville Theatre. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform in front of a sold-out Saturday matinee crowd.  DREAM Alumni Grant: The Tufts DREAM Program is applying for a DREAM Alumni Grant. They are seeking funding for their Spring Culminating Experience to the Franklin Park Zoo. DRAM Office News:  Champions in Action announcement: On February 21st, Citizens Bank formally announced that DREAM had been recognized as the 2013 Champions in Action for the next 6 months. In addition to receiving a monetary award, DREAM will also receive publicity via NECN and have flyers in all of the Citizens Bank branches.

The mentors are focusing on further developing one-on-one relationships between the newly matched mentees and their mentors in the Spring Semester. There also has been an increase in small group activities, which has been viewed positively by the youth.

They have appreciated the individual attention and getting to do activities with their friends.

Keep DREAMing!

Zahra Ohldin Program Empowerment Director/Mass Promise Fellow/Americorps The DREAM Program 41 Dearborn Street Roxbury, MA 02119 zahra@dreamprogram.org