The DREAM Program, Riverside, Quarter 2, 2016-2017

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The Village Mentoring Organization

Riverside Program –DREAM Quarterly Report Quarter 2 January – March 2017 Greetings from DREAM! The Riverside DREAM program has finished up another wonderful semester of activities. Here is a summary of all the Riverside DREAM happenings from the last quarter.

Highlights from the quarter include:  

Riverside mentors joined forces with Salmon Run and Elm Street mentors to plan a Valentine’s Day party at ArtsRiot. Over 80 mentors and mentees gathered to play games, decorate cookies, dance, and show their love for DREAM! Mentees from the Riverside, Salmon Run, and Elm Street programs came together for Northern Winter Adventure Camp. Everyone enjoyed an unseasonably warm hike up Mt. Philo!

Weekly Programming:        

For the first Friday of the semester mentors went to the community to play games with their mentees!

Mentors took mentees to UVM’s campus to watch a movie.

The group got together for cookie decorating and crafts.

Mentors and mentees went swimming at the YMCA in Burlington.

Mentors played games in the community with their mentees.

For teen night, mentors and mentees enjoyed dinner at Al’s French Fries.

Mentors and mentees did a coin drop fundraiser at UVM. The group went to UVM’s campus for an afternoon of minute to win-it challenges!

Special Events for Children and Mentors:  In December the teens were invited to our annual fall Teen Retreat! Teens from all over VT got together in Montpelier for a day filled with informational sessions, a hike, bowling, pizza, and of course some bonding time.

Capacity Building and Fundraising:  In December staff and AmeriCorps members were working on the annual appeal. Letters were hand written and sent out to donors. Staff and AmeriCorps member worked on writing thank you notes to all donors following the annual appeal.  This quarter we received a $50,000 grant to continue to invest in Camp DREAM and lodge development.  DREAM started working on the College Road Trip auction. Staff and AmeriCorps members are working to get donations for the auction which will be held in April.

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

Camp:   

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This year Winter Adventure Camps (WAC) were held in each region to minimize traveling for youth and mentors!

For our Southern WAC with Poultney, Bennington, and Rutland we brought our youth to Pico Mountain for a day of downhill skiing.

For our Dartmouth College WAC we brought the youth to Dartmouth Skiway for a day of skiing or snowshoeing. The teens did an overnight at Nunnemacher Cabin at the Dartmouth Skiway.

For our UVM WAC we did a hike up Mt. Philo since the snow melted. The kids enjoyed a warm day of hiking, sight-seeing, and exploring around the top.

For our Northern WAC with Champlain, Johnson, and Saint Michael’s we brought the youth to Skateland. The kids enjoyed pizza and skating with some old friends and some new faces!

This year we received a grant from the Davis Foundation for $5000 for gear for WAC. The money was used to purchase snowshoes.

Teens:  

Justice Palmer has been accepted to 7 of the 11 colleges and universities she applied to earlier in the year!

For MLK Day AmeriCorps members and staff brought a group of teens to Camp DREAM. The teens engaged in small service projects, explored Camp DREAM in the snow, ate delicious food, and bonded.

Alumni:  The Alumni Organization is opening up applications for local programs to apply for funding for special projects.

Office:  DREAM is currently recruiting for a Chief Operation Officer.

Staff and AmeriCorps members from VT, Philadelphia, and Boston got together in December for a week to discuss methods for improving programming.

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, 802.338.8936