dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
Northwoods –DREAM Quarterly Report March – May 2015 Greetings from DREAM! The Northwoods DREAM program has finished up another wonderful winter of activities. Here is a summary of all the Northwoods DREAM happenings from the last quarter.
Highlights from the quarter include:
Mentors brought their mentees to Arrowhead Recreation Area in Claremont, NH to enjoy a day of snow tubing! One mentee celebrated his birthday at Arrowhead and had the pleasure of all the mentors singing Happy Birthday to him! This was significant because this mentee is the last of five children and is finally old enough to join DREAM! Dartmouth College student and Windsor mentor Dylan Krouse accepted the position of DREAM Student Director for the Tucker Foundation. On April 3rd, mentors gathered for a training and conversation with, Hartford Middle School Guidance Counselor, Barb Mason. Mentors were able to ask questions on how to deal with difficult situations that may arise in their time with their mentee! DREAM is excited to announce that we will have two summer interns working with all three Dartmouth programs this summer! Mona Abdelghani accepted an AmeriCorps VYDC position and Gautam Babu received funding through the Tucker Foundation’s Dartmouth Partners in Community Service! On April 10th mentors, DREAM office staff, Jack Howard from Vermont State Housing Authority, and Tracy Dustin-Eichler from the Tucker Foundation at Dartmouth College gathered to host a Community BBQ! While a few mentees and mentors cooked for all the families, others were able to visit and play games! The Donley Foundation joined us for this event! DREAM alumni Mikey Tobin and Travis Near were able to attend and speak about their DREAM experience! AmeriCorps VISTA, Kylie Edwards, and mentee alumnus Mona Abdelghani attended the Hartford Middle School Social Studies Fair where many DREAM mentees were presenting! This month DREAM held a graduation ceremony for the Dartmouth seniors who will be leaving us this school year. Mentors and mentees from all three programs got together for a ceremony, games on the green, and watermelon! Mentors from all three programs got together to organize and run an auction as a fundraiser for High Adventure. The mentors raised over $800. Mentor Sam Gardner applied for a grant through Dartmouth College and received $1,800 toward High Adventure. Mentor Gautam Babu applied for a grant through the Tucker Foundation at Dartmouth College and received $1000 toward High Adventure.
Fridays:
Office: 30 Community Drive, South Burlington, VT | Mail: P.O. Box 361, Winooski, VT 05404 │ (802) 338-8979 | info@dreamprogram.org
Mentors and mentees worked one-on-one and in small groups!
Special Events for Children and Mentors:
Elm Street planned, fundraised for, and challenged themselves to a high ropes course at Northern Lights Rock and Ice this quarter for their culminating event, to celebrate another successful year together.
Capacity Building and Fundraising:
Dartmouth College DREAM Programs underwent a fierce season of fundraising for the High Adventure trip they will take in June. Look for updates from the trip in our next report! DREAM continues to raise funds for our capital campaign, reaching about $200,000 of our $500,000 goal so far. We will be building up Camp DREAM to allow more youth from our programs to get to camp. Plans involve a bathhouse, a lodge and an infirmary.
Mentor Training and Workshops:
There were no mentor trainings this quarter
Camp:
DREAM had some great help from volunteers at our Camp Work Days this quarter. IBM brought three volunteers on May 1st and Hickok and Boardman Insurance brought 15 volunteers on May 22nd. Volunteers helped with carpentry work on framing for our newest building, the bathhouse. They provided skilled tree services and helped stock fuel wood for our Camp oven that feeds kids all summer long.
Alumni Involvement:
DREAM welcomed many new faces to our Alumni Organization this quarter. We had 11 high school graduates who have big plans for next year, we can’t wait to see what they accomplish next! We also welcomed many mentor graduates who we hope will stay involved and engaged as they transition to post-college life. Well done everyone!
Office:
DREAM staff gathered at Bolton Valley Resort for a Sprinter retreat on March 16-17.
The DREAM staff and board members gathered for a retreat in May to talk about DREAM’s future, engage in meaningful conversations about our programs and participate in a Safe Spaces training.
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/mentor-program/vermont/local-program-reports.
DREAM big, Kylie Edwards Program Empowerment Director, VYT AmeriCorps VISTA kylie@dreamprogram.org, 802.338.8936
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/mentor-program/vermont/local-programreports.
DREAM big, Kylie Edwards Program Empowerment Director VYT AmeriCorps VISTA kylie@dreamprogram.org 802.338.8936