dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
Birchwood DREAM Quarterly Report September – November 2013 Greetings from DREAM! The Birchwood DREAM program has finished up another wonderful semester of activities. Though youth are sad to see their mentors leaving for winter break, they look forward to their return in January. Here is a summary of all the Birchwood DREAM happenings from the last quarter.
Highlights from the quarter include: • • •
Birchwood mentors introduced two new youth and four new mentors to their program! Birchwood’s new Program Partner, Will Carlson, an AmeriCorps VISTA member in the Champlain Center for Service and Civic Engagement is a great addition to the program! Birchwood mentors and mentees organized their annual “Stick It to Security”. Mentees sold pieces of duct tape in the campus cafeteria, which Champlain students used to stick one of their favorite members of security to the wall. With this fundraiser, Birchwood mentees raised over $100!
Fridays: • • • • • • • • • • •
Birchwood mentors and mentees kicked off the semester with one-on-one hangouts on Champlain’s campus. Mentees ate dinner with new mentor recruits at Champlain’s cafeteria. The Birchwood group visited Shelburne Orchards, where youth picked Fuji and McIntosh apples to take home to their families. Current mentors invited new recruits into the Birchwood community, where they tie-dyed DREAM t-shirts with youth. Birchwood mentors and mentees played Humans vs. Zombies on Champlain’s campus. Co-chairs introduced new mentors and mentees to the program. They had a pumpkin-painting party to celebrate. Birchwood DREAM played touch football at Champlain, where the new mentees taught their Program Empowerment Director how to throw a ball. Birchwood DREAM played Rock Band, a video game. Many mentees are very talented musicians! Birchwood mentees watched the movie Bully, ate snacks, and talked with their mentors about bullying. Mentees enjoyed a fun Halloween party where they received paper plate awards, fished for doughnuts on a string, and played games with their mentors. Mentors and mentees spent one-on-one time on campus.
Special Events for Children and Mentors: • •
A group of Elm Street mentors and teens hiked a portion of the Long Trail as part of UVM’s Catamountain Classic. This event raises funds for a scholarship for a DREAM teen to attend an Outward Bound Program each year. Thirteen older teens from across Vermont gathered for the second annual Teen Futures Retreat, where they wrote intros for their college essays, had a frank discussion about the pressure of drug use, and discussed their goals for life after high school. Thanks to all of the residents of The Swamp for hosting DREAM, and to Tristram Coffin, U.S. District Attorney, for facilitating
Office: 30 Community Drive, South Burlington, VT | Mail: P.O. Box 361, Winooski, VT 05404 │ (802) 338-8979 | info@dreamprogram.org