The DREAM Program, Inc. 41 Dearborn St. Roxbury, MA 02119 (617) 699-8408 www.dreamprogram.org
April 18th, 2012
The Putnam Gardens DREAM Update March 2012 March programming was broken up by Harvard’s spring break, but the mentors managed to plan a number of exciting activities on either side of their time away. DREAM Programming: 3/2(6 mentors, 5 mentees): One-on-one programming including trips to the Museum of Science, a dance performance, and explorations of Central Square. 3/9 (1 mentor, 1 mentee): Optional spring break DREAM. 3/23 (7 mentors, 3 mentees): Group programming, everyone went to Hoyt field to play basketball and badminton, and create chalk art. Community Collaboration: Be Safe Training: Sandy Mervack, DREAM’s Development Director, Chad and I attended the second of a two part training put on by Be Safe and sponsored by the Massachusetts Promise Fellowship on March 30th. We discussed different messages we send within our organizations, and ways to build strong organizational policies. We then wrote a social media policy for DREAM and received feedback on it from other organizations in the training. DREAM Office: DREAM Staff retreat: Chad and I spent March 5th and 6th in Vermont with our northern coworkers at an all staff retreat. It was a great time for us to reflect on the year so far, collaborate on larger organizational wide projects, and plan for the future. Massachusetts Promise Fellowship: DREAM has been granted an AmeriCorps Massachusetts Promise Fellow for the upcoming academic year (August-July). I will be departing in August, and the new Fellow will continue the work that I have done this year along with a couple of new yearlong projects. Regional Director: We continued our search for a Regional Director for the Boston DREAM office. Summer Community Interns: Hiring for our Summer Community Interns continued as well. Keep DREAMing! Jessica Stein Program Empowerment Director Massachusetts Promise Fellow/AmeriCorps