“The DREAM Program, Franklin Square, Quarter 4, 2016-2017”

Franklin​ ​Square​ ​DREAM​ ​Quarterly​ ​Report July​ ​-​ ​September,​ ​2017

Greetings​ ​from​ ​DREAM!​ ​Wonderful​ ​Summer​ ​DREAM​ ​activities​ ​were​ ​well​ ​underway​ ​in​ ​July​ ​and​ ​wrapped up​ ​in​ ​August.​ ​The​ ​Franklin​ ​Square​ ​Summer​ ​members​ ​and​ ​mentees​ ​were​ ​sad​ ​to​ ​see​ ​Summer​ ​end​ ​but, school​ ​resumed​ ​and​ ​the​ ​program​ ​was​ ​once​ ​again​ ​brimming​ ​with​ ​DREAMiness​ ​come​ ​the​ ​beginning​ ​of September.​ ​Here​ ​is​ ​a​ ​summary​ ​of​ ​happenings​ ​that​ ​occurred​ ​during​ ​these​ ​months.

Highlights​ ​from​ ​the​ ​quarter​ ​include: ● ● ●

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Summer​ ​DREAM​ ​members​ ​Morgan​ ​Beck​ ​and​ ​Austin​ ​Pine​ ​planned​ ​programming​ ​for Franklin​ ​Square.​ ​They​ ​were​ ​joined​ ​by​ ​Allie​ ​Campbell​ ​midway​ ​through​ ​the​ ​Summer.

The​ ​DREAM​ ​Office​ ​celebrated​ ​the​ ​Summer​ ​members​ ​and​ ​staff​ ​who​ ​ran​ ​programming with​ ​a​ ​celebratory​ ​barbeque​ ​early​ ​August.

After​ ​2​ ​years​ ​as​ ​a​ ​Program​ ​Empowerment​ ​Director​ ​(PED),​ ​Julia​ ​Dillavou,​ ​has​ ​finished her​ ​service​ ​with​ ​DREAM.​ ​She​ ​plans​ ​to​ ​remain​ ​involved​ ​with​ ​DREAM​ ​youth​ ​while​ ​she applies​ ​to​ ​graduate​ ​school.

Across​ ​DREAM’s​ ​3​ ​regions,​ ​14​ ​full​ ​time​ ​AmeriCorps​ ​members​ ​began​ ​their​ ​service​ ​ ​in​ ​the DREAMCorps​ ​National​ ​Americorps​ ​Program​ ​on​ ​August​ ​28​th​,​ ​including​ ​6​ ​new​ ​PEDs​ ​in Vermont!

DREAM​ ​welcomes​ ​Caroline​ ​Hart,​ ​Jackie​ ​Proctor,​ ​Olivia​ ​Chandler,​ ​Connor​ ​Duffy​ ​as​ ​new Co​ ​Chairs!​ ​They​ ​will​ ​join​ ​the​ ​leadership​ ​team​ ​with​ ​Meg​ ​Murray,​ ​who​ ​will​ ​be​ ​in​ ​her​ ​second semester​ ​as​ ​co​ ​chair.

Franklin​ ​Square​ ​DREAM​ ​also​ ​welcomes​ ​Deborah​ ​Kosnar​ ​as​ ​its​ ​2017-2018​ ​Program Empowerment​ ​Director.

The​ ​mentors​ ​have​ ​arrived​ ​back​ ​on​ ​campus!​ ​Mentors​ ​and​ ​mentees​ ​gathered​ ​for​ ​their​ ​first Friday​ ​on​ ​September​ ​15th​ ​for​ ​a​ ​barbeque​ ​and​ ​expectations​ ​activity​ ​in​ ​the​ ​community.

Participants Mentees Total:​ ​25 Weekly​ ​Programming​: ● ● ●

Mentors Total:​ ​18

DREAMers​ ​took​ ​many​ ​local​ ​field​ ​trips​ ​including​ ​to​ ​North​ ​Beach,​ ​Sam​ ​Mazza’s​ ​for​ ​berry picking,​ ​and​ ​the​ ​Spare​ ​Time​ ​Bowling​ ​Alley!

Franklin​ ​Square​ ​DREAM​ ​spent​ ​time​ ​on​ ​Saint​ ​Michael's​ ​Campus​ ​for​ ​movie​ ​nights​ ​and snacks!​ ​They​ ​also​ ​engaged​ ​in​ ​several​ ​rounds​ ​of​ ​hide-and-seek​ ​in​ ​the​ ​student​ ​center!

In​ ​the​ ​community,​ ​DREAMers​ ​participated​ ​in​ ​arts​ ​and​ ​crafts,​ ​bracelet-making​ ​was​ ​a favorite,​ ​and​ ​fundraised​ ​for​ ​field​ ​trips,​ ​which​ ​included​ ​selling​ ​the​ ​crafts​ ​they​ ​made!

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Youth​ ​spent​ ​an​ ​afternoon​ ​sailing​ ​on​ ​Lake​ ​Champlain​ ​courtesy​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Community​ ​Sailing Center​ ​in​ ​July!

Franklin​ ​Square​ ​DREAM​ ​took​ ​trips​ ​to​ ​Al’s​ ​French​ ​Fries​ ​to​ ​celebrate​ ​the​ ​end​ ​of​ ​another great​ ​Summer​ ​of​ ​DREAM! DREAMers​ ​went​ ​apple​ ​picking​ ​at​ ​Chapin​ ​Orchards​ ​for​ ​their​ ​first​ ​Friday​ ​outside​ ​of​ ​the community​ ​this​ ​September.

Special​ ​Events​ ​for​ ​Children​ ​and​ ​Mentors: ● DREAM​ ​received​ ​a​ ​Summer​ ​Readers’​ ​grant​ ​from​ ​CLiF​ ​(Children’s​ ​Literacy​ ​Foundation).

Local​ ​author​ ​and​ ​illustrator,​ ​Jason​ ​Chin,​ ​gave​ ​a​ ​presentation​ ​about​ ​his​ ​books​ ​and​ ​his writing/illustrating​ ​process​ ​to​ ​30​ ​youth​ ​from​ ​our​ ​Burlington​ ​area​ ​programs.

Capacity​ ​Building​ ​and​ ​Fundraising: ● Through​ ​our​ ​annual​ ​summer​ ​appeal​ ​we​ ​raised​ ​close​ ​to​ ​$50K. ● DREAM​ ​spent​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​time​ ​this​ ​quarter​ ​investing​ ​time​ ​in​ ​laying​ ​the​ ​foundation​ ​for​ ​our​ ​new National​ ​AmeriCorps​ ​grant. ● We​ ​received​ ​a​ ​challenge​ ​grant​ ​of​ ​$10K​ ​to​ ​purchase​ ​a​ ​van​ ​for​ ​transportation. ● DREAM​ ​organized​ ​our​ ​first​ ​(of​ ​what​ ​we​ ​hope​ ​will​ ​be​ ​annual)​ ​fundraising​ ​event​ ​by participating​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Race​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Top​ ​of​ ​Vermont.​ ​Staff,​ ​AmeriCorps​ ​members,​ ​board members,​ ​and​ ​alumni​ ​all​ ​hiked/biked/or​ ​ran​ ​to​ ​the​ ​top​ ​of​ ​Mount​ ​Mansfield​ ​and​ ​raised over​ ​$7K! ● We​ ​welcomed​ ​a​ ​new​ ​program​ ​site,​ ​Applegate​ ​Housing​ ​Community​ ​in​ ​Bennington,​ ​VT this​ ​summer!​ ​Youth​ ​were​ ​able​ ​to​ ​participate​ ​in​ ​our​ ​summer​ ​programming​ ​and​ ​six​ ​have signed​ ​up​ ​to​ ​participate​ ​in​ ​school-year​ ​DREAM. Camp: ●

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This​ ​year​ ​we​ ​hosted​ ​79​ ​campers​ ​over​ ​the​ ​course​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Summer​ ​representing​ ​EVERY Vermont​ ​DREAM​ ​community!!​ ​About​ ​one​ ​fifth​ ​of​ ​the​ ​campers​ ​had​ ​never​ ​been​ ​to​ ​camp before!

In​ ​late​ ​August​ ​we​ ​broke​ ​ground​ ​for​ ​the​ ​lodge!​ ​The​ ​lodge​ ​will​ ​give​ ​us​ ​capacity​ ​to​ ​host more​ ​youth​ ​for​ ​longer​ ​periods​ ​of​ ​time​ ​year-round.​ ​In​ ​addition​ ​to​ ​the​ ​lodge,​ ​a​ ​staff​ ​cabin also​ ​went​ ​up​ ​thanks​ ​to​ ​the​ ​help​ ​of​ ​our​ ​awesome​ ​summer​ ​AmeriCorps​ ​members!

Teen​ ​Accomplishments: ● Seven​ ​teens​ ​participated​ ​in​ ​a​ ​week​ ​long​ ​College​ ​Road​ ​Trip​ ​where​ ​they​ ​visited​ ​nine colleges​ ​all​ ​over​ ​Vermont​ ​and​ ​ended​ ​their​ ​trip​ ​with​ ​a​ ​weekend​ ​at​ ​Six​ ​Flags​ ​in​ ​New​ ​York. ● Summer​ ​members​ ​ran​ ​teen​ ​specific​ ​programming​ ​once​ ​a​ ​week​ ​including​ ​trips​ ​to Summervale,​ ​teen​ ​talks,​ ​and​ ​bowling​ ​trip.

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The​ ​Dartmouth​ ​programs​ ​and​ ​the​ ​Bennington​ ​and​ ​Poultney​ ​programs​ ​both​ ​went​ ​on​ ​High Adventures​ ​to​ ​California! o Twelve​ ​teens​ ​and​ ​nine​ ​mentors​ ​from​ ​Dartmouth​ ​spent​ ​ten​ ​days​ ​exploring​ ​San Francisco,​ ​zip-lining​ ​through​ ​Redwoods,​ ​and​ ​camping​ ​in​ ​Big​ ​Basin​ ​State​ ​Park. o Two​ ​teens​ ​from​ ​Bennington,​ ​two​ ​teens​ ​from​ ​Poultney,​ ​and​ ​five​ ​mentors​ ​spent​ ​a week​ ​exploring​ ​Los​ ​Angeles!

Six​ ​teens​ ​served​ ​as​ ​Counselors-in-Training​ ​at​ ​Camp​ ​DREAM​ ​this​ ​summer,​ ​and​ ​another 6​ ​teens​ ​served​ ​as​ ​Mentors-in-Training​ ​during​ ​community​ ​programming!

Alumni: ● Alumni​ ​are​ ​investing​ ​in​ ​a​ ​new​ ​alumni​ ​management​ ​system​ ​so​ ​to​ ​help​ ​alumni​ ​better​ ​stay in​ ​touch​ ​and​ ​provide​ ​more​ ​career-oriented​ ​resources​ ​to​ ​our​ ​DREAMers.

Office: ● ●

We​ ​welcomed​ ​Mike​ ​Ewan​ ​to​ ​our​ ​team​ ​as​ ​our​ ​Chief​ ​Operations​ ​Officer!

Through​ ​our​ ​new​ ​National​ ​AmeriCorps​ ​grant​ ​we​ ​brought​ ​on​ ​fourteen​ ​AmeriCorps members​ ​across​ ​our​ ​3​ ​regions.

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/mentoring/vermont/local-program-reports​.

DREAM​ ​big, Deb​ ​Kosnar Program​ ​Empowerment​ ​Director dkosnar@dreamprogram.org 802.338.8979