dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
Riverside DREAM Quarterly Report October-December 2015 Greetings from DREAM! The Riverside program has enjoyed a fun filled fall semester and has lots of exciting news to report on!
Highlights from the Quarter Include:
Riverside mentors collaborated with the Elm Street and Salmon Run mentors to plan a Thanksgiving celebration for all three programs! The event was held at ArtsRiot in Burlington and food was donated by Hannaford. The Riverside, Elm Street, and Salmon Run mentors planned a joint talent show and several mentors and mentees performed!
Weekly Activities with Youth:
Mentors created a scavenger hunt for mentees in downtown Burlington! The group painted pumpkins in the community! Mentees and mentors worked together to make Halloween costumes. In preparation for Halloween, mentors and mentees decorated Halloween cards and baked Halloween treats! Several new mentor-mentee matches were made! To get to know each other, mentors spent oneon-one time with their mentees. Mentors and mentees said goodbye at the talent show and are excited to be reunited in January after UVM’s winter break!
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.
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
Office: 30 Community Drive, South Burlington, VT | Mail: P.O. Box 361, Winooski, VT 05404 │ (802) 338-8979 | info@dreamprogram.org
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 post-graduation 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, Kelsea Moulton Program Empowerment Director VYT AmeriCorps VISTA kelsea@dreamprogram.org 802.338.8979