dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
Birchwood DREAM Quarterly Report March – May 2014 Greetings from DREAM! Birchwood has finished up another wonderful semester of activities. Though youth are sad to see their mentors leaving for summer break, they look forward to their return in September, and also have a whole summer of exciting programming to keep them busy! Here is a summary of all the Birchwood DREAM happenings from the last quarter.
Highlights from the quarter include: Fridays: • • • •
Birchwood mentees participated in a scavenger hunt at Champlain College. Birchwood mentors planned a pasta dinner for their culminating event. After learning that the Birchwood Community Center was closed due to a broken pipe, they thought on their feet and took their mentees out for pizza. th Mentees are looking forward to community summer programming, starting June 16 , led by AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs Julia Dillavou, Laura Burnham, and Vanessa Sproates-Horl. th Staff are preparing for Camp DREAM’s summer sessions, which will start on June 16 !
Special Events for Children and Mentors: •
• • • •
The DREAM Office hosted a Teen Identity Retreat April 4-5, where teens gathered in Burlington and participated in informative sessions about health and identity, talked with panelists from local organizations, had a Q+A with a Burlington Police Officer, tried out Zumba and made connections with teens from all over Vermont. 3 Birchwood teens attended DREAM’s Teen Identity Retreat where they ate healthy food, participated in sessions about health and identity, tried out Zumba, and made connections with teens throughout Vermont. 1 Birchwood teen helped with the Teen Identity Retreat as a CIT (Counselor in Training). 1 Birchwood mentee alumnus assisted with the retreat as a volunteer. Birchwood graduating seniors attended a recognition dinner held by the Champlain Center for Service and Civic Engagement.
Capacity Building and Fundraising: • •
DREAM is thrilled to share the start-up of a new DREAM program at UVM, paired with the Salmon Run Apartments in Burlington. The new mentors and mentees held their first DREAM Friday this quarter. DREAM was honored to receive a $5,000 unrestricted grant from Merchant’s Bank to support the Vermont DREAM Programs.
Camp: •
This May three productive work days up in Fletcher, VT with the help of many volunteers from IBM helped prep Camp DREAM for summer!
Office: 30 Community Drive, South Burlington, VT | Mail: P.O. Box 361, Winooski, VT 05404 │ (802) 338-8979 | info@dreamprogram.org
Alumni Involvement: • • • •
The DREAM Alumni Organization is currently electing new leadership. Nominations flooded in for the two positions to be filled: Alumni Council President and Constitution Keeper. A major focus with alumni will be raising money to build facilities at Camp DREAM, improving the experience for our youth. DREAM welcomed 100 mentors and mentees into the Alumni Organization this quarter! 3 graduating Birchwood mentors were recognized for their hard work and welcomed into the alumni network.
Office: • • • •
The DREAM office was a very busy place this quarter as hiring began for summer interns, as well as full time AmeriCorps members! This quarter, DREAM staff said good bye to Development Director Sandy Mervak. Sandy has left DREAM to go back to graduate school. The DREAM staff and board members gathered at Camp DREAM in May for a successful third annual retreat. New staff members all the way from Philadelphia and Boston were able to attend, making the retreat a very special one. The Elm St. office in Winooski got some TLC from Burlington DREAM staff this May with a major cleaning and sprucing up to get organized for summer!
Thank you for your ongoing support of DREAM. If you would like additional or more detailed information, please contact me by email or by phone. You can always look back at past reports or other programs’ reports by going to: 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