dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
The Putnam Gardens DREAM Update December 2013 The Putnam Gardens program had a fabulous culminating experience to end out the semester. Additionally, the mentors began developing plans to strengthen their program in the Spring Semester. DREAM Programming: •
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12/7 (8 mentees, 11 mentors): The group held their culminating event on Saturday, December 7th. Hoping to do an activity the youth had never done before, the mentors planned an elaborate scavenger hunt around downtown Boston. The group was divided into three teams: teen boys, teen girls, and younger kids. The scavenger hunt was a big success and the mentors considered it their best culminating yet! To read more about the event and to see some of the clues, check out our article here. 12/7-12/15 (6 mentees, 6 mentors): While programming had officially ended for the semester, several mentors met up with their youth to make up missed programming from earlier in the semester. One match did a make up of the scavenger hunt because the mentee was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict. Two matches went to the Omni Theater at the Science Museum. Other activities included going to a café, attending a Kuumba concert at Harvard, playing board games, and decorating toy cars.
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New mentors and mentees: Official matching will occur once the mentors return from winter break. Elections: The mentors held their elections during the last meeting of the semester. Officers will be: o Returning Co-chair: Tanmaya Sambare o Incoming Co-chair: Ashleigh Inglis o Secretary: Meghan Hind o Treasurer: Trent Nelson o Recruitment Co-chairs: Oriana Wang and Alex Young Development: The mentors made plans to revisit their constitution at the start of the spring semester. The co-chairs, recruitment co-chairs, and I will also be meeting to discuss developing a more diverse and strategic recruitment plan for the spring.
dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
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Workforce Collaboration: At the end of November, I met with Kambiz Maali to discuss how DREAM could better collaborate with Workforce and support our Putnam youth who currently participate in the Workforce program. Jason and I will be meeting with Nora Goodwin, the site coordinator at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, in early January. I also plan to attend the Shield of Honor presentations at CRLS, as two of our DREAM youth will be participating in this event. Teen Program: This month, we started outlining our teen program. Jason and I will be meeting with all of our teens and mentors of teens in January and February to gather input about what they would like to see out of this program. Longwood Symphony Orchestra Benefit Concert: The LSO concert, which was held on December 7th, went extremely well and was enjoyed by all attendees. Mentor and mentee matches from the Madison Park/Northeastern University Local Program, the Orchard Gardens/Boston University Local Program, and the Somerville Housing Authority/Tufts University Local Program attended the concert. For most of our youth, this was the first classical concert they have ever attended. We want to say thanks to the LSO, our sponsor UBS, all who attended, and those who sponsored a mentor/mentee match to join us. DREAMstock: DREAM staff has been diligently planning DREAMstock, DREAM’s annual mentor training, which is scheduled for Saturday, February 22nd. All mentors from the five Boston programs will be expected to attend for a day of workshops and networking. Workshop topics will include: cultural competency, age-specific mentoring, building and sustaining relationships with families, and purposeful programming. South Boston Local Program: University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston has been selected as the partner school for our new community in South Boston: Old Colony. Mentor recruitment will continue when students return mid-January. Annual Appeals: DREAM is in the midst of both its Annual and Alumni Appeals. It is an exciting time of year when we reach out to our supporters and invite them to contribute to help support the great work we are doing.
Keep DREAMing! Katie Purcell Program Empowerment Director Mass Promise Fellow/Americorps Katie@dreamprogram.org