dreamprogram.org The DREAM Program @DREAMprogram
The Village Mentoring Organization
The Orchard Gardens DREAM Update December 2013
The Orchard Gardens program had an exciting end to their semester. Additionally, the mentors began developing plans to strengthen their program for the Spring Semester. DREAM Programming:
12/6 (8 mentees, 15 mentors) Recording Studio. For the last activity of the semester, the mentors and mentees went to the Record Company to learn about the recording process and got to record their own song! The kids had a great time singing and playing instruments-even if a few of the guitars had broken strings! We would like to say a BIG thank you to Suzeth who sponsored this activity!
12/14 (3 mentees, 13 mentors) Orchard Gardens Holiday Party. While programs had officially eneded for the semester, a group of mentors braved the snow to lead an arts and crafts activity table for the youth who were in attendance. Additionally, they helped run games, hand out prizes, and assisted in the handing out of gifts at the end of the party.
Program Development: New mentors and mentees: The new mentors are almost completely background checked. New mentee recruitment has begun and will continue through the mentor’s winter break. DREAM Office: Teen Program: This month, we started outlining our teen program. Katie and I will be meeting with all of our teens and mentors of teens in January and February to gather input about what they would like to see out of this program.
Longwood Symphony Orchestra Benefit Concert: The LSO concert, which was held on December 7th, went extremely well and was enjoyed by all attendees. Mentor and mentee matches from the Madison Park/Northeastern University Local Program, the Orchard Gardens/Boston University Local Program, and the Somerville Housing Authority/Tufts University Local Program attended the concert. For most of our youth, this was the first classical concert they have ever attended. We want to say thanks to the LSO, our sponsor UBS, all who attended, and those who sponsored a mentor/mentee match to join us.
41 Dearborn St., Roxbury, MA 02119 | (617) 699-8408 | boston@dreamprogram.org
DREAMstock: DREAM staff has been diligently planning DREAMstock, DREAM’s annual mentor training, which is scheduled for Saturday, February 22nd. All mentors from the five Boston programs will be expected to attend for a day of workshops and networking. Workshop topics will include: cultural competency, age-specific mentoring, building and sustaining relationships with families, and purposeful programming.
South Boston Local Program: University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston has been selected as the partner school for our new community in South Boston: Old Colony. Mentor recruitment will continue when students return mid-January.
Annual Appeals: DREAM is in the midst of both its Annual and Alumni Appeals. It is an exciting time of year when we reach out to our supporters and invite them to contribute to help support the great work we are doing.
This has been a really exciting Fall Semester and we cannot wait to bring more youth into DREAM and match the new mentors in the spring. The Orchard Gardens Program has made a lot of progress this semester and it will be exciting to see its continued growth in the spring! Keep DREAMing! Jason Desrosier Program Director Jason@dreamprogram.org
Program Development:
DREAM Office:
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South Boston Local Program: University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston has been selected as the partner school for our new community in South Boston: Old Colony. Mentor recruitment began in November and info sessions for those interested will be held the second week of December.