dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
Franklin Square DREAM Quarterly Report January – March 2014 Greetings from DREAM! Though it may not look it, winter is technically over, and it held many fun events for Franklin Square. Mentees and mentors participated in Winter Adventure Camp, mentors welcomed a new program partner, and the program is preparing for a culminating trip to Northern Lights in Burlington. Please read below for highlights of Franklin Square’s winter quarter!
Highlights from the Quarter: •
•
Mentors at St. Michael’s College are currently in the process of planning and fundraising for their culminating event at Northern Lights! Franklin Square welcomed Steph Baer, a new program partner and past mentor at the University of Vermont. Steph brings with her lots of experience in planning DREAM Fridays and empowering youth. This winter she invited co-chairs to her home for dinner, where they discussed their goals for the upcoming semester.
Fridays: • • • • • • •
To kick off the semester, mentors went door-to-door in Franklin Square and gave weekly program calendars to all DREAM families. Mentors and mentees made ice cream sundaes on the St. Mike’s campus. Franklin Square watched a movie and ate popcorn and snacks with their mentors. Mentees participated in a super fun chemistry-based magic show led by a professor at St. Michael’s College. Mentors and mentees joined in one-on-one activities on campus. Franklin Square played Family Feud at Saint Michael’s College. Mentors invited youth to Alliot, the dining hall, for food and games.
Special Events for Children and Mentors: • •
Three Franklin Square mentees and three mentors attended Day WAC at Camp DREAM, where they played broomball, cross-country skied, and sledded with other youth from programs across Vermont. Two Franklin Square mentees and four mentors attended Teen WAC at the Bolton Valley Resort, where they received cross-country ski lessons from an AmeriCorps member from the 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
Office: 30 Community Drive, South Burlington, VT | Mail: P.O. Box 361, Winooski, VT 05404 │ (802) 338-8979 | info@dreamprogram.org