dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
Pine Meadow DREAM Quarterly Report December-February 2015 - 2016 Greetings from DREAM! This quarter mentors and mentees enjoyed lots wintry activities, making the most of a mostly snow-less winter!
Highlights from the quarter include: The group had a great time playing at Whirlie’s World – bouncing around on the bounce castles, playing arcade games, and playing lazer tag. This quarter DREAMers from all over Vermont came together for a Teen Winter Adventure Camp and 8-12 year old Winter Adventure Camp. The groups had lots of wintry adventures at these two events! Construction continues at Camp DREAM, preparing for even more exciting summers ahead on the property! Participants Total: 12 Females:4 Males: 8
Total: 13 Females: 7 Males: 6
Fridays:
The group took a trip to Whirlie’s World during one Friday. While there, they played arcade games, jumped around in the bounce castles, and played two exciting games of Lazer Tag! One Friday was spent splashing around at a local Middlebury pool. The group spent one Friday playing board games and tag. DREAMers teamed up with members of the college rugby team to play (a safer version of) rugby! One wintry Friday the group went sledding. The group spent two Friday’s this quarter together on campus for ninja, tag, board games, and soccer. For the last Friday of the semester, DREAMers prepared for a long, relaxing break with a relaxing yoga activity!
Capacity Building and Fundraising:
Office: 30 Community Drive, South Burlington, VT | Mail: P.O. Box 361, Winooski, VT 05404 │ (802) 338-8979 | info@dreamprogram.org
We had a strong annual fundraising drive, raising $326K in individual support, far exceeding dollars raised in previous appeals!
Mentor Training and Workshops: This quarter a small group of Vermont mentors, teen mentees, and staff made the trek to Boston to attend their annual DREAMstock, mentor conference for DREAM mentors. Our two teen mentee attendees hosted a Q&A panel for mentors, answering questions about their experiences and opinions on mentoring. Camp: This quarter DREAM held two Winter Adventure Camps (WAC), one for teens and one for 8-12 year olds o WAC for 8-12 year olds took place at Camp DREAM. We had a total of 117 attendees, including 42 mentors, 12 staff and volunteers, and 63 youth. The group enjoyed activities such as broomball, sledding, magical winter hikes, and of course, plenty of hot chocolate! o We had a total of 48 attendees for Teen WAC, including 21 teens, 15 mentors, 10 staff, and 2 volunteers. A team of 6 DREAMers, made up of staff, teens, and alumni, participated in the annual Penguin Plunge to benefit the Special Olympics, jumping into the freezing Lake Champlain waters while the rest of the group cheered them on! The team raised a total of $900 for the Special Olympics and won a facebook photo contest! After the plunge, the group spent the afternoon ice skating and bonding at Cairns Arena. This January DREAM teens from across Vermont, including one Middlebury DREAM teen, convened at Camp DREAM on Martin Luther King day to do service, reconnect, enjoy some sledding, and share a meal. We are about 4/5 of the way to completing our capital campaign for Camp DREAM and plan on breaking ground this summer, permits allowing, for a large multi-purpose lodge. We hope this building will be heated and have a large great room, a nurses station with a bathroom, a working office with internet and phone access, and more! Work on the bathhouse facilities continue. The frame is up and we are well on the way to completing this project. Once finished the bathhouse will have both composting toilets and shower facilities. The youth could not be more excited to have shower at Camp DREAM soon!
Alumni Involvement: This quarter we have begun recruiting Alumni Liaisons from current mentors in our programs. These Liaisons will work closely with the Program Liaisons from the Alumni Council to help keep alumni updated on current program happenings. Office: DREAM has hired a Student Employee from Champlain College to be our Board Assistant. The Board Assistant will provide support and clerical assistance to our Board of Directors and CEO. 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, Sarah Caliendo Program Director scaliendo@dreamprogram.org 802.338.8979