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The Village Mentoring Organization
The Orchard Gardens DREAM Update February 2014 The Orchard Gardens Program had a great February. The mentors have started to plan fundraisers to raise funds for a culminating experience in May!
DREAM Programming:
2/8 and 2/15 (8 mentees, 12 mentors): On Feb. 8th and 15th, mentors and mentees decorated valentines, baked brownies and put together valentine’s treat bags which were used for a fundraiser at Boston University. On the 15th, the youth gave each other valentine’s cards. 2/22 (0 mentees, 0 mentors): No activity. Mentors at DREAMstock
Program Development:
DREAMstock: Mentors attended DREAMstock, DREAM’s annual mentor training, on February 22nd. More than 50 mentors from Northeastern, Tufts, Harvard, and Boston University were all present for a day full of workshops, networking, and fun. Workshops included cultural competency, age-specific mentoring, purposeful programming, and diverse recruitment. All mentors were encouraged to continue networking with each other outside of DREAMstock and take the knowledge they learned back to their respective programs. Orchard Garden’s very own Suzeth Dunn facilitated a discussion on cultural awareness, which mentors rated as their favorite of the day! Additionally, co-chairs arrived two hours early to participate in a session dedicated to exchanging ideas across programs and addressing the issue of mentor retention.
DREAM Office:
Teen Program: This month Katie continued developing ideas for the teen program. She facilitated a workshop during our mentor training, DREAMstock for all teen mentors to discuss mentoring and supporting teens. Katie is working to recruit one to two mentors per program to help organize a teen wide activity on March 28th. She hopes to pilot some of the curriculum with the Putnam teens (Cambridge), and will be meeting with the Harvard mentors about the program in midMarch. 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 has begun and will continue into March. Teen Employment Guide: The 2014 Orchard Gardens teen employment guide will be distributed to eligible youth in early March. The DREAM Office is hosting optional office hours for those interested in receiving more assistance with resumes or applying to jobs within the city.
Keep DREAMing! Jason Desrosier Boston Programs Director Jason@dreamprogram.org
41 Dearborn St., Roxbury, MA 02119 | (617) 699-8408 | boston@dreamprogram.org