The DREAM Program, Madison Park, July-August, 2012

The DREAM Program, Inc. 41 Dearborn St. Roxbury, MA 02119 (617) 699-8408 www.dreamprogram.org

August 31st, 2012

The Madison Park Village DREAM Update Summer 2012 DREAM designed and implemented another successful summer of programming in Madison Park Village and Ruggles Shawmut. DREAM Summer Community Interns ran programming for the community every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from June 25th through August 15th.

Youth Participation:  29 youth from Madison Park Village and Ruggles Shawmut participated in DREAM summer programming.  22 participated on multiple occasions  Participating youth ranged in age from 6-18 years old  11 of the youth that participated are not in school-year DREAM programming. Many of them are excited to join school-year DREAM this year.

Summer Programming Activities: Programming was held in the community and around the Greater Boston Area.

On-site activities:  Ice cream making  Paper airplane designing  Board games  Tie dye and shirt decorating  Kite flying  Basketball, kickball, and football  Water games Off-site activities and trips:  Harborfest, at City Hall Plaza  Swimming at Mason and Melina Cass pools  Visiting Revere Beach  Hiking and swimming at the Blue Hills Reservation  The Aquarium  Bowling at Boston Bowl  Attending a Red Sox baseball clinic  Gardening at the DREAM garden plot in Orchard Gardens Bigger events or trips:  A backyard pool party and cookout in Duxbury at a friend of DREAM’s house.  Deep sea fishing on Capt. John’s charter fishing boat out of Plymouth.  A family potluck dinner to wrap-up a great summer of DREAM.

Additional Summer Opportunities  City to Saddle: Along with eight other DREAM youth, two youth from Madison Park Village and Ruggles Shawmut participated in a weeklong horseback riding day camp at Liberty Hill Farm in Lancaster through City to Saddle. Over the course of the week they learned how to care for and ride horses. It was a wonderful experience that the participants are still talking about.  Time of Wonder Sailing: Five older youth from the Madison Park DREAM program took part in DREAM’s first sailing trip with Time of Wonder Sailing. They spent three days and two nights aboard a 60ft sail boat sailing off the coast of Maine. They learned the basics of how to sail, went swimming and explored local islands.

Community Collaboration:  Camp Harbor View: In collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club, DREAM staff went door-to-door in the community this spring to inform families about Camp Harbor View.

Camp Harbor View is an amazing four week day camp put on by the Boys and Girls Club on Long Island in the Boston Harbor. We hope that some of the youth took advantage of this great opportunity and the more do in the years to come.  National Night Out: DREAM staff assisted in planning and putting on of National Night Out, a community wide celebration for Madison Park Village, Ruggles Shawmut and Orchard Gardens, on August 10th.  Dudley/Roxbury Corridor Safety Task Force: DREAM staff attended the Dudley/Roxbury Corridor Safety Task Force meetings on June 21st and July 23rd.  Madison Park Village VIP Meeting: Eli Selva, the Madison Park Village DREAM Summer Community Intern, and I attended the MPV VIP meeting on June 27th at the 12th floor of the Smith House.

DREAM Office:  New Regional Director: Rachel Lieberman, the new Regional Director of the Boston DREAM office, officially started in June. If you would like to contact her you can email her at Rachel@dreamprogram.org.  Massachusetts Promise Fellow: DREAM was awarded a Massachusetts Promise Fellow again this year. Zahra Ohldin, our new Fellow, started this August. If you would like to contact her you can email her at Zahra@dreamprogram.org.

Keep DREAMing!

Chad Butt Programs Director