The DREAM Program, Willowbrook, Quarter 1, 2014-2015

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The Village Mentoring Organization

Willowbrook DREAM Quarterly Report September - November 2014

Greetings from DREAM! In the past three months, the Willowbrook program has been alive and well. With stimulating activities like crafts and physical activities, youth have been able to become very close with the mentors. The program has paired up and is ready to begin another semester of meaningful one-on-one mentoring.

Highlights from the quarter include:  Willowbrook families and mentors came together for a community pizza dinner!

They enjoyed getting to know each other.  DREAM teens attended an enlightening retreat based on building futures!  Willowbrook program gained a new mentee this month!  Mentors planned and executed a two-day training retreat to share ways of becoming better mentors for their mentees!

Weekly Programming:  The Willowbrook program has gained six new mentors this quarter!  Willowbrook mentors planned and executed a joyful community pizza party so that families of mentees can get to know the mentors better.  Willowbrook mentors planned and executed a two-day training retreat to become better mentors!

Special Events for Children and Mentors: DREAM staff were excited to host teens for our annual Teen Futures Retreat! Teens from all over the state got together to talk about their future plans regarding educational goals and career choices. Teens participated in a small service project at a local farm.

The Chittenden County Mentoring Network hosted mentors from several different Chittenden County mentoring organizations to honor their hard work and dedication. DREAM mentors were invited to attend the function which was held in Burlington.

Mentor Training and Workshops: For our annual mentor conference, DREAM Stock, we got together at Bolton Valley with mentors from all of our Vermont programs. This year we were excited to have two Philadelphia mentors attend. Mentors attended informational sessions, collaborated with mentors from different programs, and made exciting plans for enhancing their local programs!

Camp:

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

This year Camp DREAM turned 10 years old! To celebrate the milestone DREAM held a birthday bash at Camp in Fletcher, VT. Staff, DREAM alumni, mentors and youth, and friends of DREAM enjoyed fresh baked flatbread pizza, games, and an informational discussion on the history of Camp DREAM and what the years to come will look like!

Alumni Involvement: We are very excited to announce that alumnus Matt Karkut has taken the position of Camp Programming and Operations Manager. Matt was a Champlain College mentor and spent a summer with DREAM as an Adventure Programming Coordinator. While we were sad to say good bye to Rosetta Morse, who moved on to join Burton's Chill Program, we are thrilled to have someone with such energy and passion for getting youth outdoors!

Capacity Building and Fundraising: DREAM received a grant from the Green Mountain Fund to help in sustaining and expanding programming at Johnson State College. DREAM also received a grant from Hills and Hollow to aid in the continued support of our programming at Green Mountain College. DREAM was honored to receive a generous grant from the Donley Foundation to aid in delivery of general programming to all of our Vermont programs.

Our development team met in Philadelphia for a biannual retreat. The team was able to discuss what the coming years will look like for DREAM and got to see the Philadelphia programs in action.

DREAM's annual appeal has kicked off. Staff have been working hard to get letters out to donors. Mentor's also contributed by calling alumni and thanking them for all the work they have done for DREAM and the support they continue to give!

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/localprogram-reports.

DREAM big, Ariana Walk VYT AmeriCorps VISTA Program Empowerment Director ariana@dreamprogram.org 802.681.3982

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