The DREAM Program, Somerville HA, September-November, 2012

The DREAM Program, Inc. 41 Dearborn St. Roxbury, MA 02119 (617) 699-8408 www.dreamprogram.org December 1, 2012

The SHA DREAM Update 1st Quarter Report 2012-2013 Program Year (September-November) The SHA DREAM Program began the Fall Semester with a bang. The youth were so excited to participate in programming that they eagerly ran up to mentors during the first afternoon of programming this year.

DREAM Weekly programming: DREAM Programming happens every Friday afternoon that the Tufts’ mentors are on campus and in classes.  09/21 (12 youth, 14 mentors): For the first DREAM Friday of the semester, the group programmed in the park across the street from Clarendon Hill. Activities included: name games, Ninja, tag, soccer, playing on the playground, and ice-cream making.  09/28 (4 youth, 13 mentors): It is not unusual to have lower attendance at the first, out of the community, Friday DREAM. Due to the rain, DREAM activities took place indoors. The mentees played games on campus, and painted a banner in the Crafts Center.  10/05 (10 youth, 11 mentors): All of the youth participated in a Columbus Day themed scavenger hunt. After completing the scavenger hunt, the youth played tag, colored, made aluminum boats and raced them, and viewed the Boston skyline from a lookout point.  10/12 (8 youth, 12 mentors): Mentees were split into 2 groups: one group played Sardines and the other group played kickball. After the activities, the youth spent some one-on-one time with their mentors to go over rules for DREAM.  10/19 (9 youth, 22 mentors): The group held a Fall Fundraiser where they served warm beverages and decorated cookies. The fundraiser brought in about $160.  10/26 (7 youth, 20 mentors): This week’s DREAM Friday had a Halloween theme. Youth made toilet paper mummies, had a mummy relay, and made masks in the Crafts Center.

Another group wrote Madlibs and had a monster freeze dance.  11/02 (9 youth, 21 mentors): Matches split into small groups this week and either went to Gantcher Gym, watched a movie in the Tisch Library, or played games on chalkboards.  11/09 (7 youth, 20 mentors): Once again the mentees and mentors split into small groups.

Activities included: playing basketball, board games and ping pong, watching movies in the Tisch Library, and going to the Crafts Center.  11/16 (13 youth, 20 mentors): The mentees enjoyed the one-on-one programming and drinking hot chocolate. Matches had fun exploring Eaton Hall on campus and observing the Spirit of Color dance troupe practice.  11/30: (Attendance has not yet been reported): The group continued with one-on-one and small group programming. A few matches went to the Museum of Science, while others participated in activities on campus.

DREAM Participants:  Mentors: There are currently 25 active DREAM mentors.  Youth: Over the Fall Semester, 17 youth participated in DREAM. The program welcomed five new youth into the school-year DREAM program this quarter. Additionally, four DREAM youth participants from last year moved out of the SHA community this fall and one decided not to continue with DREAM programming this year. More youth will be added into the program during the Spring Semester.

Program Development:  Mentor Recruitment: Starting in mid-September, the Tufts mentors began recruitment efforts to bring on more mentors this semester. After conducting interviews, the current Tufts mentors selected 8 students to add to the program, bringing the total number of active DREAM mentors to 25.  Mentor Training and Background Checks: All of the recently recruited new mentors underwent new mentor training within the first week of being accepted. They are currently undergoing the standard DREAM Mentor Screenings which include the following: o FBI Fingerprint Check: a national FBI background check. o National Sex Offender Registry Check: check of an online nationwide database. o CORI: criminal record check in the state of Massachusetts. o SORI: sex offender registry check in the state of Massachusetts. o Mentor Background Statement: Mentors provide information on their driving and criminal record, sign to the validity of it, and agree to inform the DREAM Office if their driving or criminal record status changes during their time as a mentor. o Reference Checks: The DREAM Office is provided with two references, one professional and one personal, who can attest to the mentor’s background, experience, and ability to care for children.  Mentor Elections: This year’s DREAM co-chairs are Amanda Ball and Lesya Horyn. Steven Howard was elected as the new treasurer and Anna Zhou was selected as the new secretary.

Chelsea Newman will replace Amanda Ball as the new co-chair in Spring Semester.  Program Partner: Nina Skagerlind, a former Dartmouth DREAM mentor, has come on board to serve as a DREAM Program Partner to assist with the support of Tufts DREAM Program. She is currently a grad student at Tufts and holds biweekly office hours to serve as support for the co-chairs and all Tufts DREAM mentors and assist DREAM staff.  Student Group Recognition: The Tufts students have begun the process of becoming an officially recognized student group on Tufts campus. They hope to become a student group by the end of this year.

This has been a really exciting Fall Semester and we cannot wait to bring on more SHA youth participants in the Spring Semester. It has been great to see the mentees and mentors further the bonds built last year and create new ones.

Keep DREAMing!

Zahra Ohldin Program Empowerment Director