The DREAM Program, Putnam Gardens, July-August, 2012

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

August 31st, 2012

The Putnam Gardens DREAM Update Summer 2012 DREAM designed and implemented another successful summer of programming in Putnam Gardens. DREAM Summer Community Interns ran programming for the community every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from June 25th through August 15th.

Youth Participation:  30 youth from Putnam Gardens participated in DREAM summer programming.  22 participated on multiple occasions.  26 of the youth don’t participate in school-year DREAM programming. Many of them are excited to join school-year DREAM this fall.

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

On-site activities:  Ice cream making  Water games  Paper airplane designing  Board games  Tie dye and shirt decorating  Basketball  Pizza making Off-site activities and trips:  Harborfest at City Hall Plaza  Swimming at Magazine Beach Pool  Hiking and swimming at the Blue Hills  The Museum of Science  The Aquarium  Tufts University  A tour of Berklee College of Music  The Children’s Museum Bigger events or trips:  A day of activities for Putnam Garden youth organized by the Harbor Island Summer Programming Team.  A field day for DREAM put on by the Red Sox staff as part of their 100 acts of kindness to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park.  Bi-weekly outdoor movie nights.

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A community potluck and cookout to celebrate a great summer of DREAM.

Additional Summer Opportunities  Youth developed end of summer trip: A group of youth expressed a desire to do something special towards the end of summer programming. We held a planning meeting and they decided they would like to go to Coco Keys if possible. After a little research they had a goal of how much they needed to raise and had decided to hold a bake sale. Unfortunately the bake sale didn’t raise enough money for at trip to Coco Keys, but they youth had a great time at their backup plan, bowling and playing at the arcade at Boston Bowl. It is amazing to see youth take on an initiative and strive towards a goal.  City to Saddle: Along with seven other DREAM youth, three youth from Putnam Gardens participated in a weeklong horseback riding day camp at Liberty Hill Farm in Lancaster, MA through City to Saddle. The week leading up to camp the youth held a bake sale fundraiser to raise the small fee for the camp. The bake sale helped fund their week of camp, introduced them to campers from the other DREAM communities, and empowered them to play an important role in the process. Over the course of the week at Liberty Hill Farm they learned how to care for and ride horses. It was a wonderful experience that the participants are still talking about.

Community Collaboration:  Youth Interns: Working with the Mayors Summer Youth Employment Program (MSYEP) and Youth Works, DREAM was able to have two recent Cambridge high school graduates work alongside our summer interns and help run programming at Putnam Gardens.  CHA Work Force: With the help of our MYSEP intern, who was a graduate from the CHA Work Force program, DREAM knocked on the doors of youth 13-14 years old living in Putnam Gardens to inform them about Work Force, answer any questions they may have, give them an application, and encourage them to apply. We hope that more youth from Putnam Gardens will become involved in Work Force in the future.

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