The DREAM Program, Franklin Square, Quarter 1, 2016

dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram

The Village Mentoring Organization

Franklin Square –DREAM Quarterly Report October – December 2015

Greetings from DREAM! The Johnson Community DREAM program has finished up another wonderful winter of activities. Here is a summary of all the Johnson Community DREAM happenings from the last quarter.

Highlights from the quarter include: • Franklin Square DREAM put on their annual Thanksgiving event on November 20th. The Co-Chairs met with the chair of the Champlain College-Birchwood Manor DREAM Program to organize the event together.

• Franklin Square DREAMers finished off another wonderful semester in December! Mentors and mentees said goodbye on December 11 and will be reunited in January!

Fridays: • Mentors brought mentees to go to Alliot, the dining hall at Saint Michael’s College. The mentees were excited, as always, to go “Alliot’s,” as they like to call it.

• Mentors and mentees went swimming at the YMCA! • Mentors and mentees went trick or treating around campus!

• Older mentees spent an afternoon on Church Street with their mentors while younger mentees went to Zachary’s Pizza to eat pizza and play arcade games with their mentors!

• Mentors and mentees spent one on one time together on campus.

• The mentors and mentees from the Champlain-Birchwood program joined Franklin Square for their annual Thanksgiving dinner. Mentors and mentees from both programs enjoyed pizza, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and sweet treats as well as getting to know some unfamiliar DREAMers!

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Special Events for Children and Mentors: • This fall DREAM hosted its annual mentor conference, DREAMstock, at Bolton Valley Ski Resort. Mentors from all over the state attended for a weekend full of trainings, fun activities, exchanging of ideas, and bonding. Mentors talked about teen programming, how to connect with families, meeting facilitation, and fundraising ideas. Amanda Rhodenburg from Outright VT came and talked with mentors about how to create safe spaces for our youth.

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

Capacity Building and Fundraising: • DREAM staff members kicked off the annual appeal this November. Through the help of staff, volunteers, mentors, board members, and alumni we are over half way to our goal of $200,000.

• Hannaford gave a generous gift of $10,000 to DREAM. • The Merchant’s Bank gave a gift of $7,500 toward Camp DREAM. Camp: • We had a great Day of Caring this year with volunteers from Green Mountain Keurig. The day was filled with completing important tasks such as bedding the garden for the winter and dismantling old structures for materials.

• Camp Programs and Operations Manager, Matt Karkut, has been working hard on building structures at camp. Matt, along with volunteers, broke ground for a new cabin this fall. The group has constructed a foundation and a subfloor for the structure. Matt also got the roof completed on the bathhouse.

Office: • In September staff from Boston, Philadelphia, and Vermont got together for a retreat. The retreat focused on how staff can strengthen local programs, work across regions, and more.

• DREAM is excited to announce that we have a new VYDC AmeriCorps member.

Alicia Pacelli has joined the team to serve as a Teen Coordinator. Alicia will be working closely with our teens throughout the state. She will be working on postgraduation plans, teen programming, teen retreats, and summer programming opportunities.

• Former VYT AmeriCorps member Kate Cahalane received a Governor’s Service Award for her dedication to DREAM during her two years of service. Kate was a mentor at UVM for four years, a summer intern, supported our three Dartmouth programs as a PED, and supported our three UVM programs as a PED. Kate’s dedication to DREAM has impacted many youth and mentors throughout the state.

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,

Julia Dillavou Program Empowerment Director, VYT AmeriCorps VISTA Julia@dreamprogram.org, 802.338.8979