dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
Hickory Street/Forest Park DREAM Quarterly Report March – May 2015 Greetings from DREAM! In this quarter, youth at Hickory Street/Forest Park and their mentors had many enriching adventures together and have strengthened their bond throughout the term. Mentors have gone for summer vacation but youth look forward to summer programming! Highlights from the quarter include: DREAM teens from across the state joined for an identity retreat! They were glad to be reunited and had fun teaching technology skills to the elderly and learning about personal identities! This quarter, Hickory Street threw a Spring Fling party in the community! DREAM office staff attended and families new to DREAM got a taste of its fun programming! This month, mentees of Hickory Street got together with Program Empowerment Director Ariana Walk for a trip to the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, VT! Weekly Programming: The group spent a day at the bowling alley! Youth made St. Patrick’s Day crafts and played games on campus! Mentors took youth hiking one day at Pine Hill Park in Rutland. The group had an egg hunt in the community at a community-wide Spring Fling event where new families from the community joined to meet the team! The group got rained out and went to campus to play games in Tuttle Hall! They played pool, air hockey, and board games! The group spent a day at the park and had fun using the swings and slide! Hickory Street mentees also spent a day at a local goat farm where they learned about the animals and work of the farmers. Mentors took their mentees to a bounce house at the mall! They then ended the day at a local park. Youth took a trip to Norwich, VT to visit the Montshire Museum of Science. They enjoyed themselves playing with bubbles, clouds, fog, and light, but their favorite activity was definitely the water park outside!
Office: 30 Community Drive, South Burlington, VT | Mail: P.O. Box 361, Winooski, VT 05404 │ (802) 338-8979 | info@dreamprogram.org
Special Events for Children and Mentors: Elm Street planned, fundraised for, and challenged themselves to a high ropes course at Northern Lights Rock and Ice this quarter for their culminating event, to celebrate another successful year together. Capacity Building and Fundraising: Dartmouth College DREAM Programs underwent a fierce season of fundraising for the High Adventure trip they will take in June. Look for updates from the trip in our next report! DREAM continues to raise funds for our capital campaign, reaching about $200,000 of our $500,000 goal so far. We will be building up Camp DREAM to allow more youth from our programs to get to camp. Plans involve a bathhouse, a lodge and an infirmary. Mentor Training and Workshops: This quarter our DREAM summer staff attended orientation at Camp DREAM to learn the ropes of their new jobs!
Camp: DREAM had some great help from volunteers at our Camp Work Days this quarter. IBM brought three volunteers on May 1st and Hickok and Boardman Insurance brought 15 volunteers on May 22nd. Volunteers helped with carpentry work on framing for our newest building, the bathhouse. They provided skilled tree services and helped stock fuel wood for our Camp oven that feeds kids all summer long. Alumni Involvement: DREAM welcomed many new faces to our Alumni Organization this quarter. We had 11 high school graduates who have big plans for next year, we can’t wait to see what they accomplish next! We also welcomed many mentor graduates who we hope will stay involved and engaged as they transition to post-college life. Well done everyone! Office: DREAM staff gathered at Bolton Valley Resort for a Sprinter retreat on March 1617.
The DREAM staff and board members gathered for a retreat in May to talk about DREAM’s future, engage in meaningful converstations about our programs and participate in a Safe Spaces training. DREAM has completed our hiring process for Program Empowerment Directors (PEDs) for next year. We are thrilled to welcome back our very own Kylie Edwards, and to welcome Julia Dillavou, Tiffany Bernard-Trowbridge, and Kelsea Moulton to the team!
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/mentoring/vermont/local-program-reports.
DREAM big, Ariana Walk VYT AmeriCorps VISTA Program Empowerment Director ariana@dreamprogram.org 802.681.3982