dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
The Somerville Housing Authority DREAM Update 1 Quarter Report 2014-2015 Fiscal Year (April-June) st
The SHA Program rounded out school year DREAM with an activity filled April including a culminating trip to Middlesex Fells and their 3rd Annual Community Cookout. During the month of May, the DREAM Office was busy planning for Summer DREAM. Summer DREAM kicked off in SHA on June 20th! DREAM Programming: School-Year DREAM 04/04 (13 youth, 8 mentors): Most of the program played basketball in the park across the street. The older matches did one-on-one activities. At 5pm the mentors held a community meeting for parents and community members to attend to provide feedback on DREAM. Two mentees’ parents came as well as a parent interested in enrolling her child in DREAM. 04/12 (13 youth, 15 mentors): The program had its culminating event of the semester at Middlesex Fells Reservation. The matches were broken up into two teams. In the morning each team did team-building activities and made trail mix. Afterwards, each group went on nature walks before returning back to Claredon. 04/18 (12 youth, 12 mentors): Most of the mentees and mentors played soccer together on a field at Tufts. They then explored an activity fair occurring on campus. Older matches did one-on-one activities. 04/25 (13 youth, 14 mentors): As a way to end the year, Tufts held its 3rd Annual Community Cookout in Clarendon Hill featuring veggie burgers, hot dogs, chips, and refreshing tea and water. Many community members attended including siblings of current participants, those on the waitlist, and parents of current participants.
Summer DREAM: Summer DREAM activities began for SHA on Friday, June 20th.
06/20: The summer interns hosted a kick-off event in the park across from the community. The group played capture the flag and enjoyed popsicles and ice cream. All youth who attended were asked to fill out surveys about what they want to do with DREAM this summer. 06/30: Four youth from SHA attended DREAM’s trip to George’s Island. The day-long field trip featured picnicking, playing on the beach, and touring the fort on George’s Island. 07/01: To battle the heat, the interns brought thirteen youth to Dilboy Pool. The group loved swimming, and has already requested to return soon.
Upcoming Summer Trips
The Roseway: DREAM has been selected to send 25 youth in grades 6th through 8th aboard the Roseway schooner. The program will run from July 14th through July 18th. Each day will focus on different team-building and life skills including communication, teamwork, and self-worth. Applications will be handed out to eligible youth in the beginning of July. Boston College Trip: Boston DREAM will be hosting a college trip for DREAM youth in grades 6th through 12th the week of July 21st through July 24th. At present we are confirmed to tour Roxbury Community College, Boston University, Benjamin Franklin
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Institute of Technology, University of Massachusetts Boston, and Suffolk University. Ten to fifteen youth will attend each tour. New England Aquarium: We have several aquarium trips scheduled for this summer. There is a community outreach event on July 9th, and two field trips scheduled for July 10th and 25th. Throughout the summer youth from each community will get the opportunity to participate in at least one of these events.
School-Year Program Development: Elections: The mentors held their elections during the last meeting of the year. Officers will be: o Returning Co-Chair: Natasha Chabria o Incoming Co-Chair: Paige Negoro o Secretary: Meaghan Annet o Treasurer: Solana Davis Treasurer-in-Training: Michaela Beck o Mentor Development Chair: Calvin Liang o Culminating Chair: Lesya Horyn Alumni Welcome and Sendoff: During one of the last meetings, we spent time honoring the graduating seniors. I welcomed them into the DREAM Alumni Network and the mentors presented them with goodie bags and personalized notes. DREAM Participants: Mentors: There are currently 16 active DREAM mentors. Youth: During the school year, 16 youth participated in DREAM. So far this summer we have seen most of our school-year youth as well as three youth who are new to DREAM. DREAM Office: Teen Program: The original teen event planned for April 18th was cancelled due to weather and scheduling conflicts. Instead, a group of female mentees and mentors from the Madison Park/Northeastern University Local Program came to the DREAM Office for a screening of “The Halls: Class Dismissed,” a web-series produced by the Boston Public Health Commission focusing on teen dating relationships. The group watched all eight episodes and the screening was intermixed with discussion about the heavy topics included in the show. School Engagement Focus Group: I conducted a school engagement focus group with seven youth in the Somerville Housing Authority/Tufts University Local Program. The grades of participants ranged from 4th to 6th. Results from this focus group will be included in the composite analysis the Mass Promise Fellowship will publish based on the data from all 40 host sites. Mentoring Night at Fenway Park: On Thursday, May 28th, 2014 a group of Northeastern matches, two mentees from Somerville Housing Authority, and two DREAM staff
dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
members attended the Mentoring Night at Fenway Park. These tickets were generously donated to DREAM via Mass Mentoring Partnership. Summer Community Interns: The three Summer Community Interns this summer will be Sydney Durand, Emily Durfee, and Sharldine Desire. Together with the support of the Program Staff, they will be supporting all five communities and providing on-site activities and off-site trips for DREAM youth throughout the summer. Summer Community Intern Orientation: All of the Vermont and Boston Summer Community Interns joined the Camp DREAM staff and DREAM Program staff members for an orientation at Camp DREAM in Fletcher, VT from June 9th to the 11th. Interns participated in workshops on topics including: behavior management, DREAM basics, supporting youth through the tough stuff, fundraising, and building relationships with families. The interns and Camp counselors loved the opportunity to meet one another and left energized for a fun-filled summer. Summer Appeals: DREAM is amidst its Summer Appeal. Letters were sent out in order to continue funding the wonderful summer activities that are offered each year. Rodman Ride for Kids: In partnership with the Massachusetts Mentoring Partnership, DREAM was selected to be a participant in this year’s Rodman Ride for Kids. The ride, which takes place in Foxboro on September 18th, will include many DREAMers, including our Regional Director, riding 25, 50, or 100 miles to raise money for DREAM in Boston.
Keep DREAMing! Katie Purcell Program Empowerment Director Mass Promise Fellow/AmeriCorps Member Katie@dreamprogram.org