The DREAM Program, Birchwood, Quarter 4, 2013-2014

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The Village Mentoring Organization

Birchwood DREAM Quarterly Report June-August 2014 Greetings from DREAM! Summer brought warm weather and plenty of DREAMing this quarter. Though sad summer has ended, mentees are excited that Champlain mentors have returned this fall. Here is a summary of Birchwood DREAM happenings from the summer: Highlights from the Quarter Include: ● After a three-day orientation at Camp DREAM, AmeriCorps VISTAs Julia Dillavou, Laura Burnham, and Vanessa Sproates-Horl began summer programming at Birchwood Manor. ● On June 17th Birchwood youth attended Camp DREAM’s boys’ session. ● On June 24th Birchwood youth attended Camp DREAM’s girls’ session. ● On June 30th, Birchwood teens attended the Camp DREAM Teen Session. ● Two Birchwood teens volunteered as CITs (Counselors in Training) for Camp DREAM’s Southern Boys’ Session. ● One Birchwood teen participated in DREAM’s College Road Trip, where he and a group of teens from Vermont spent a week touring colleges in New York City. ● DREAM thanked Julia Dillavou, Laura Burnham, and Vanessa Sproates-Horl for a summer of great programming at their End of Service Celebration on August 1st.

Weekly Activities with Youth: ● Birchwood teens enjoyed a movie night in the community center. ● Three youth went sailing on Lake Champlain thanks to the generous support of the Community Sailing Center. ● Summer VISTAs took youth on multiple trips to Sand Bar State Park. ● Mentees went on multiple trips to visit the horse of one of our Summer VISTAs. ● Youth participated in an all-day Birchwood Backyard Bonanza! ● Summer VISTAs facilitated a “Sensational Science” presentation, followed by a trip to the Echo Center. ● DREAM youth made dream catchers at Birchwood. ● Summer VISTAs facilitated an open family photo shoot for families and youth. ● For an early 4th of July celebration, Community VISTAs organized a water ballon fight, decorated cookies with youth, and made red, white and blue spaghetti in the community center. ● International Day was celebrated at Birchwood, complete with henna hand designs, DREAM Tibetan prayer flag decorations, and international snacks.

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

● Summer VISTAs took Birchwood youth on an adventure around the Champlain Islands. ● For a culminating summer event, Summer VISTAs and Birchwood youth camped out in the community, where they set up tents, roasted marshmallows over a bonfire, and tried their best to sleep through the night. ● Youth took Community VISTAs on a nature walk around Birchwood. ● Youth went swimming at North Beach.

Special Events for Youth and Mentors: ● 9 teens participated in DREAM’s Teen Sailing Program, accompanied by our Adventure Program Coordinator, Zoe Hoffman, where they lived on a sail boat for a week in the Atlantic Ocean of the coast of Maine. Participants learned how to sail the boat, visited one of the oldest lighthouses on the East Coast, and experienced life as a sailor while challenging their comfort zones! ● 5 teens from across Vermont participated in the College Road Trip! ● Summer VISTA Gabi Kaplan and the teens went on tours of Vermont and New York City colleges and universities, navigated the metro, toured the 30 Rock building, and spent some free time practicing college essay writing and exploring NYC! A highlight of the trip was staying in the dorms and eating at the dining hall at Southern Vermont College, as well as meeting with faculty and staff there to learn all about the college application process and college life. ● The Young Women’s Interpretation Program had its second successful summer, sponsored by the Vermont Women’s Trust Fund. Three teens from Elm Street and Franklin Square, with the support of intern Alexandria Bacheller, spent the summer knocking on doors in the Salmon Run and Franklin Square communities.

The teens communicated with families, interpreting and translating information about DREAM as well as soliciting feedback and ideas in the hopes that DREAM will reach more families!

Capacity Building and Fundraising: ● This year’s Summer Appeal raised over $36,000 from 89 donors. This has been our biggest summer appeal to date. Thank you to all who supported DREAM’s summer programs! ● DREAM is working to expand our summer programming for next year by raising funds for new facilities at Camp. With the opportunity to host more kids for longer periods of time, our summers at Camp will have even more of an impact!

Mentor Training and Workshops: ● This year’s team of 14 Summer VISTAs and Community Interns from across Vermont and the greater Boston area participated in a three-day orientation in

Burlington and at Camp DREAM, where Camp staff joined them. Session topics included managing a budget and fundraising; purposeful activity planning, DREAM’s Mentor Boundaries, Transportation Guidelines, & Child Abuse Reporting Procedures; difficult conversations and trauma; and family involvement. Interns also took part in team building activities, went on a night hike, and learned more about the communities in which they would plan and lead enriching summer activities for DREAM youth!

Camp: ● Camp DREAM celebrated another wonderful summer! This year, Camp welcomed 73 campers, 9 teen counselors-in-training, 8 VYDC AmeriCorps VISTAs and staff members, and several volunteers over five sessions. ● During these sessions, campers and counselors swam, canoed, sailed, hiked, built fires, took nature walks, ate healthy and delicious food, watched and performed in skits, played oodles of games, made new friends, and learned more about themselves, their communities, and their environment! ● 6 Camp staff served as AmeriCorps members through the Vermont Youth Development Corps (VYDC) AmeriCorps State program, serving as the Adventure Program Coordinator, Lifeguard/Lead Counselor, and Local Foods Program Coordinator/Iron Chef.

Alumni Involvement: ● DREAM is excited to have Kylie Edwards, Franklin Sq./Saint Mike’s alumnus, returning to DREAM as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Dartmouth College’s Local Programs. Kylie also spent the summer running programming supporting our summer VISTAs at Elm St. in Winooski. We are thrilled to have her back! ● One Elm St/UVM alumnus and ongoing program partner, Steph Baer, will be the new Money Initiative Head on the Alumni Council. Thanks for all you do for DREAM, Steph! ● Zoe Hoffman, Riverside/UVM alumnus, spent the summer up at camp and sailing in Maine with DREAM youth as DREAM’s Adventure Program Coordinator. Zoe did an outstanding job helping our youth take healthy risks and challenge themselves through adventure this summer!

Office: ● DREAM said goodbye to Mark Hengstler, and Katie Purcell, who finished their AmeriCorps terms this quarter. Mark and Katie plan to continue participating in DREAM as volunteers!

● Ali Siegel, who has served two years with our Southern VT programs as a Vermont Youth Tomorrow VISTA, finished up her AmeriCorps term this quarter as well. We are thrilled to have Ali continue with us through October in Boston doing interim program work as we are conducting our hiring process for a new Program Director! ● Staff welcomed three new AmeriCorps VISTA members who are serving through Vermont Youth Tomorrow (VYT). Adam Hurwitz, Ariana Walk, and Kylie Edwards will be supporting DREAM’s Local Programs in Chittenden, Rutland, and Windsor counties. A fourth AmeriCorps VISTA member, Kate Cahalane, joins them for her second year with Vermont programs.

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, Adam Hurwitz Program Empowerment Director VYT AmeriCorps VISTA adam@dreamprogram.org 802.338.8979