The DREAM Program, Inc. 41 Dearborn St. Roxbury, MA 02119 (617) 699-8408 www.dreamprogram.org
May 15th, 2012
The Orchard Gardens DREAM Update April 2012 This month brings to a close the 2011-2012 School Year DREAM Program, but before the mentors said goodbye everyone enjoyed three great weeks of programming and a Culminating Experience at Camp DREAM in Vermont! DREAM Programming: 4/7(7 mentors,3 mentees): Mentors and Mentees explored Newbury Street together, and asked for Ice Cream Donations for the Final DREAM on April 28th. 4/14(11 mentors,10 mentees): Group trip to FitRec BU’s Gym, and make up fundraising opportunity for mentees still needing to earn a spot on the Culminating Experience 4/21(9 mentors, 12 mentees) Culminating Experience! See below 4/28(14 mentors, 8 mentees): Final DREAM, ice cream social on BU’s campus with ice cream donated by Coldstone Creamery. Culminating Experience: Nine mentors and twelve mentees accompanied by Chad, myself, and Suzeth Dunn Orchard Gardens’ Resident Services Coordinator spent April 21st and 22nd at Camp DREAM in Fletcher, Vermont. Despite the cold and rain, everyone kept their spirits up and had a great time learning to canoe, build fires, and chop wood. We also made s’mores, and slept in a tree house and lean-to. All of the mentors and mentees worked together to fundraise for this trip, and it was wonderful to see their hard work pay off. Mentor Development: DREAMstock: On April 1st, the Boston DREAM office hosted the first Boston DREAMstock. The event was a great opportunity for mentors from the Boston DREAM programs to come together and meet for the first time, discuss best practices within their programs, and plan future collaborations which we can’t wait to see happen. The day included workshops on mentee involvement in fundraising, planning with a purpose, behavior management, and accessing resident services in DREAM communities. Twenty mentors and a number of great DREAM Alumni and committee members attended the afternoon. Thank you to BU for donating space, and Ben and Jerry’s for donating ice cream. Elections: At the last meeting of the year the mentors elected a new co-chair and treasurer, both of whom will serve for the coming academic year. We are excited to see the program continue to learn and grow under their leadership. Community Collaboration: Boston Marathon Project: In collaboration with City Counselor Tito Jackson’s office, DREAM developed a project in which a local Boston youth would train and run the 116th Boston Marathon and would raise money for DREAM and for a college scholarship for themselves.
After months of training we are excited to congratulate Tucker Gaye on his successful completion of the Boston Marathon on April 16th. Dudley/Roxbury Corridor Safety Task Force: Chad attended the Dudley/Roxbury Corridor Safety Task Force meeting on April 23rd at the Mission Main Community Room.
DREAM Office: Summer Community Interns: We finalized our hires for our 2012 Summer Community Interns. We are excited to have four amazing college students working with DREAM and running programming in each DREAM community this summer. Massachusetts Promise Fellow Hiring: We are currently accepting applications for our next AmeriCorps Massachusetts Promise Fellow, if you know anyone who would make a great candidate please let us know, and direct them to http://masspromisefellows.org/openpositions.html#dream Keep DREAMing! Jessica Stein Program Empowerment Director Massachusetts Promise Fellow/AmeriCorps