The DREAM Program, Birchwood, Quarter 2, 2013-2014

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The Village Mentoring Organization

Birchwood DREAM Quarterly Report December 2013 – February 2014 Greetings from DREAM! Though the winter is still not over, it held many exciting events for Birchwood mentors and mentees, including Winter Adventure Camp and a pre-culminating event. Read below for events and highlights from Birchwood DREAM’s winter quarter!

Highlights from the quarter include:  This spring semester DREAM welcomed new Birchwood co-chair Nikki Duran and returning co

chair Kate Hennes!

As a pre-culminating event, Birchwood mentors and mentees spent a Saturday having lunch at Chili’s and going out to a movie. During this event mentors improved upon their teamwork and organizational skills. Their goal was to prepare both themselves and their mentees for a more challenging event at the end of the semester.

Fridays:      

Birchwood closed fall semester by bowling at Spare Time in Colchester.

Birchwood began spring semester by playing floor hockey in the Champlain gymnasium.

Birchwood youth joined their mentors in the Champlain cafeteria for food and games.

Mentees helped mentors bake cookies on campus, then played board games and listened to music.

Champlain students carpooled to Birchwood for some rounds of Apples to Apples. This was the first time new mentors had the chance to visit the community.

Mentees played dodgeball against mentors at the Champlain gymnasium.

Special Events for Children and Mentors:   

Two Birchwood mentees and three mentors attended Day WAC at Camp DREAM, where they played broomball, cross-country skied, and sledded with youth from programs across Vermont!

Two Birchwood mentees and two mentors attended Overnight WAC at Camp DREAM. Three Birchwood mentees and two mentors attended Teen WAC at Bolton Valley Resort, where they received cross-country ski lessons thanks to Emily, an AmeriCorps member with Catamount Trails Association.

Capacity Building and Fundraising:  

This year DREAM raised $102,368 during its Annual Appeal. Gifts came in all sorts of sizes from DREAMers around the world. With the $20,731 raised during the Alumni Appeal, DREAM raised over $123,000 this quarter.

DREAM was recently awarded $15,000 from the Hoehl Foundation and $5,000 from the Redducs Foundation for work at Camp DREAM. These grants were awarded for the construction of a new bathhouse in Fletcher, VT, where Camp DREAM is located, and for working with New American families to send their children on overnight camping trips. A hearty thanks to both foundations for supporting Camp DREAM! We look forward to serving more youth than ever before.

Office: 30 Community Drive, South Burlington, VT | Mail: P.O. Box 361, Winooski, VT 05404 │ (802) 338-8979 | info@dreamprogram.org

Mentor Training and Workshops: 

In appreciation of National Mentoring Month, 22 mentors volunteering with northern programs in Vermont were invited to Boloco for a night of celebration and thanks for their hard work. Thanks to our partnership with Boloco, DREAM was able to provide free burritos. Mentors bonded with staff, ate cake, and competed in a DREAM t-shirt raffle.

Camp:  DREAM staff gathered for a work day in order to prepare Camp DREAM for Winter Adventure 

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Camp. Because of December’s severe winter storms, staff members were busy repairing the stove and removing branches from the trails.

Mentees, ages 8-12, made the trek to Camp DREAM for an afternoon of skiing, sledding and broomball on the frozen Metcalf Pond. Temps were cold, but everyone had fun, made friends, and stepped outside of their comfort zones. Out of the 36 mentees who attended, 8 spent the night at Camp DREAM, braving the winter storm.

Teens from all over Vermont gathered at Bolton Valley Nordic Center for a day of cross-country skiing. DREAM teamed up with Catamount Trail Association, whose AmeriCorps member Emily Licht instructed mentors and mentees and led some fun (and very difficult) rounds of sharks and minnows. All 27 teens decided to explore Bolton’s Nordic trails, where they worked together to navigate the rough terrain.

Because of the long drive to Camp DREAM, staff brought Winter Adventure Camp to the Local Programs in Bennington and Poultney. Mentors and mentees met up at Emerald Lake State Park, where they went sledding and cross-country skied.

Alumni Involvement:   

After last fall’s successful phone-a-thons in which mentors called alumni from their respective local programs, DREAM raised $20,731 from 151 donors. We look forward to the New Alumni Welcome this spring, when we will officially invite graduating mentors into the alumni network.

DREAM alumni were present at three of DREAM’s four WAC sessions this winter. Three mentor alumni volunteered for the Day and Teen sessions, and one former mentee volunteered during Overnight WAC. Three Local Programs applied for grants from the Alumni Grants Committee this semester. Two grants were for culminating activities, and one was for funding for healthy lifestyle programming for teens.

Office:   

DREAM is excited to announce the hiring of Jen Horan, the new Regional Director of our office in Philadelphia. Jen’s hiring comes as a result of a generous contract with the Philadelphia Housing Authority. We are excited to continue building our programs in Philadelphia!

DREAM welcomes Andrew Lassiter, longtime DREAMer, to the Board of Directors! Andrew was a staff member and also served as an AmeriCorps member with DREAM. We are excited to have him on Board!

Program staff from Boston and Vermont gathered in Portsmouth, NH, for two days of fun bonding activities and summer planning. Program staff also fine-tuned a program assessment tool created to facilitate stronger mentor ownership.

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All members of the Burlington office gathered for MLK Day, where they made Valentines cards for veterans. Thanks to Essex CHIPS and Operation: Military Kids for organizing the event!

Thank you for your ongoing support of DREAM! If you would like more information, feel free to contact me by email or by phone. You can always look back at past reports or other program reports by visiting: http://dreamprogram.org/mentor-program/vermont/local-program-reports.

DREAM big, Mark Hengstler Program Empowerment Director VYT AmeriCorps VISTA mark@dreamprogram.org 802.338.8979