dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
The Madison Park Village DREAM Update October 2013 We’ve had a lovely October here at DREAM! The mentors and mentees have engaged in programming that is fun and enriches their lives.
DREAM Programming:
10/4: (15 mentees, 19 mentors): The girls played outside with chalk and the boys played sports games on campus. Some small groups went to pack meals at Community Servings, a community meals program that home-delivers food to the homebound and terminally ill. The volunteer coordinators were really impressed with our youth!
10/9: (12 mentees): Cranberry Bog trip!! On Columbus Day, Jason and I took a group of Madison Park and Orchard Gardens mentees to Duxbury, Massachusetts where some valiant supporters of DREAM welcomed our DREAMers into their home. We learned from farmers how cranberries are grown, harvested, cleaned, and transported to companies like Ocean Spray. We enjoyed our time at Sarah and Jeff’s home, and look forward to seeing them soon!
10/18: (13 mentees, 15 mentors): Younger male mentees went to the children’s museum. Older males hung our at a mentor’s apartment and played games. The girls played games including Smiles, Sneakers, & Sass.
10/19 Saturday - Beautiful Me for ALL female mentors/mentees in DREAM. The program was developed in collaboration with Orchard Gardens mentors. Madison mentors and mentees alike really appreciated the self-esteem-building event, and look forward to making this an annual collaboration. Everyone got a lot from the event.
41 Dearborn St., Roxbury, MA 02119 | (617) 699-8408 | boston@dreamprogram.org
10/25: (19 mentees, 13 mentors): Halloween Party! We ate donuts and candy, ran around the Madison community center, and took pictures of each other’s Halloween costumes. Check our website for pictures!
Program Development: Recruitment: The mentors’ September recruitment efforts paid off in October with TEN NEW MENTORS! Everyone is getting into the swing of things and having a great time with our mentees. New Youth: We also took 3 youth off of the waitlist and brought them into DREAM programming. So far, it’s been a ton of fun.
DREAM Office:
Old Colony Program Development: Rachel, Jason and I have been in communication with the staff at the Tierney Learning Center in Old Colony this month. The selection for our college partner for Old Colony should be made very soon.
Strategic Plan to recruit a more diverse mentor base: I, Asha, am working on this Plan as part of my project scope this year. So far, this has included researching power and privilege trainings and doing some drafting of the Plan’s structure.
Youth and Parent Surveys: Katie, J and I are all working to follow-up with youth and families about the youth and parent surveys necessary for Katie’s Massachusetts Promise Fellow youth evaluation.
Keep DREAMing! Asha Carter Program Empowerment Director AmeriCorps Highland Street Corps Ambassador of Mentoring The DREAM Program 41 Dearborn Street Roxbury, MA 02119 Asha@dreamprogram.org