The DREAM Program, Willowbrook, Quarterly Report, June-August, 2017

Willowbrook​ ​DREAM​ ​Quarterly​ ​Report June​ ​-​ ​August,​ ​2017

Greetings​ ​from​ ​DREAM!​ ​ ​Summer​ ​programming​ ​began​ ​this​ ​June​ ​and​ ​our​ ​two​ ​Summer​ ​AmeriCorps Members​ ​put​ ​on​ ​some​ ​great​ ​activities​ ​for​ ​the​ ​Willowbrook​ ​youth!​ ​The​ ​Willowbrook​ ​community​ ​was brimming​ ​with​ ​DREAMiness​ ​and​ ​here​ ​is​ ​a​ ​summary​ ​of​ ​happenings​ ​that​ ​occurred​ ​this​ ​Summer.

Highlights​ ​from​ ​the​ ​quarter​ ​include: ● Four​ ​DREAM​ ​Teens​ ​spent​ ​an​ ​amazing​ ​week​ ​in​ ​Los​ ​Angeles,​ ​CA​ ​for​ ​their​ ​High Adventure​ ​Trip ● Youth​ ​went​ ​camping​ ​for​ ​a​ ​day​ ​in​ ​Winhall,​ ​VT​ ​as​ ​their​ ​final​ ​Summer​ ​activity Participants Mentees Total:​ ​15

Mentors Total:8

Summer​ ​Program​ ​Activities​: ● DREAM​ ​purchased​ ​two​ ​plots​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Bennington​ ​Community​ ​Garden​ ​and​ ​Youth spent​ ​a​ ​few​ ​days​ ​helping​ ​weed,​ ​seed,​ ​and​ ​water​ ​their​ ​plants ● Youth​ ​went​ ​swimming​ ​at​ ​Lake​ ​Paran​ ​and​ ​Lake​ ​Shaftsbury​ ​on​ ​multiple​ ​occasions ● Youth​ ​painted​ ​pictures​ ​and​ ​hung​ ​them​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Willowbrook​ ​Community​ ​Room ● Another​ ​day,​ ​youth​ ​engaged​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Egg​ ​Drop​ ​experiment ● DREAM​ ​youth​ ​attended​ ​many​ ​of​ ​the​ ​weekly​ ​children's’​ ​programs​ ​hosted​ ​by​ ​the Bennington​ ​Library ● Teens​ ​went​ ​bowling​ ​together​ ​for​ ​“Teen​ ​Night” ● To​ ​raise​ ​money​ ​for​ ​the​ ​camping​ ​trip,​ ​youth​ ​helped​ ​bake​ ​cookies​ ​and​ ​cupcakes which​ ​they​ ​then​ ​sold​ ​to​ ​passer-bys ● After​ ​camping,​ ​youth​ ​attended​ ​a​ ​pancake​ ​dinner​ ​to​ ​close​ ​the​ ​Summer​ ​and​ ​to​ ​say goodbye​ ​to​ ​our​ ​Summer​ ​AmeriCorps​ ​Members Special​ ​Events​ ​for​ ​Children​ ​and​ ​Mentors: ● DREAM​ ​received​ ​a​ ​Summer​ ​Readers’​ ​grant​ ​from​ ​CLiF(Children’s​ ​Literacy Foundation).​ ​Local​ ​author​ ​and​ ​illustrator,​ ​Jason​ ​Chin,​ ​gave​ ​a​ ​presentation​ ​about his​ ​books​ ​and​ ​his​ ​writing/illustrating​ ​process​ ​to​ ​30​ ​youth​ ​from​ ​our​ ​Burlington​ ​area programs.

Capacity​ ​Building​ ​and​ ​Fundraising: ● Through​ ​our​ ​annual​ ​summer​ ​appeal​ ​we​ ​raised​ ​close​ ​to​ ​$50K. ● DREAM​ ​spent​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​time​ ​this​ ​quarter​ ​investing​ ​time​ ​in​ ​laying​ ​the​ ​foundation​ ​for our​ ​new​ ​National​ ​AmeriCorps​ ​grant. ● We​ ​received​ ​a​ ​challenge​ ​grant​ ​of​ ​$10K​ ​to​ ​purchase​ ​a​ ​van​ ​for​ ​transportation. ● DREAM​ ​organized​ ​our​ ​first​ ​(what​ ​we​ ​hope​ ​will​ ​be​ ​annual)​ ​fundraising​ ​event​ ​by participating​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Race​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Top​ ​of​ ​Vermont.​ ​Staff,​ ​AmeriCorps​ ​members, board​ ​members,​ ​and​ ​alumni​ ​all​ ​hiked/biked/or​ ​ran​ ​to​ ​the​ ​top​ ​of​ ​Mount​ ​Mansfield and​ ​raised​ ​over​ ​$7K! ● We​ ​welcomed​ ​a​ ​new​ ​program​ ​site,​ ​Applegate​ ​Housing​ ​Community​ ​in Bennington,​ ​VT​ ​this​ ​Summer!​ ​Youth​ ​were​ ​able​ ​to​ ​participate​ ​in​ ​our​ ​Summer programming​ ​and​ ​six​ ​have​ ​signed​ ​up​ ​to​ ​participate​ ​in​ ​school-year​ ​DREAM. Camp: ● This​ ​year​ ​we​ ​hosted​ ​79​ ​campers​ ​over​ ​the​ ​course​ ​of​ ​the​ ​summer​ ​representing EVERY​ ​Vermont​ ​DREAM​ ​community!!​ ​About​ ​one​ ​fifth​ ​of​ ​the​ ​campers​ ​had​ ​never been​ ​to​ ​camp​ ​before! ● In​ ​late​ ​August​ ​we​ ​broke​ ​ground​ ​for​ ​the​ ​lodge!​ ​The​ ​lodge​ ​will​ ​give​ ​us​ ​capacity​ ​to host​ ​more​ ​youth​ ​for​ ​longer​ ​periods​ ​of​ ​time​ ​year-round.​ ​In​ ​addition​ ​to​ ​the​ ​lodge,​ ​a staff​ ​cabin​ ​also​ ​went​ ​up​ ​thanks​ ​to​ ​the​ ​help​ ​of​ ​our​ ​awesome​ ​summer​ ​AmeriCorps members!

Teen​ ​Accomplishments: ● Seven​ ​teens​ ​participated​ ​in​ ​a​ ​week​ ​long​ ​College​ ​Road​ ​Trip​ ​where​ ​they​ ​visited nine​ ​colleges​ ​all​ ​over​ ​vermont​ ​and​ ​ended​ ​their​ ​trip​ ​with​ ​a​ ​weekend​ ​at​ ​Six​ ​Flags​ ​in New​ ​York. ● Summer​ ​members​ ​ran​ ​teen​ ​specific​ ​programming​ ​once​ ​a​ ​week​ ​including​ ​trips​ ​to summervale,​ ​teen​ ​talks,​ ​and​ ​bowling​ ​trip. ● The​ ​Dartmouth​ ​programs​ ​and​ ​the​ ​Bennington​ ​and​ ​Poultney​ ​programs​ ​both​ ​went on​ ​High​ ​Adventures​ ​to​ ​California!

○ Twelve​ ​teens​ ​and​ ​nine​ ​mentors​ ​from​ ​Dartmouth​ ​spent​ ​ten​ ​days​ ​exploring San​ ​Francisco,​ ​zip-lining​ ​through​ ​Redwoods,​ ​and​ ​camping​ ​in​ ​Big​ ​Basin State​ ​Park. ○ Two​ ​teens​ ​from​ ​Bennington,​ ​two​ ​teens​ ​from​ ​Poultney,​ ​and​ ​five​ ​mentors spent​ ​a​ ​week​ ​exploring​ ​Los​ ​Angeles! ● Six​ ​teens​ ​served​ ​as​ ​Counselors-in-Training​ ​at​ ​Camp​ ​DREAM​ ​this​ ​summer!

Alumni: ● Alumni​ ​are​ ​investing​ ​in​ ​a​ ​new​ ​alumni​ ​management​ ​system​ ​so​ ​to​ ​help​ ​alumni better​ ​stay​ ​in​ ​touch​ ​and​ ​provide​ ​more​ ​career-oriented​ ​resources​ ​to​ ​our DREAMers.

Office: ● We​ ​welcomed​ ​Mike​ ​Ewan​ ​to​ ​our​ ​team​ ​as​ ​our​ ​Chief​ ​Operations​ ​Officer! ● Through​ ​our​ ​new​ ​National​ ​AmeriCorps​ ​grant​ ​we​ ​brought​ ​on​ ​fourteen​ ​AmeriCorps members​ ​across​ ​our​ ​3​ ​regions.

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/mentoring/vermont/local-program-reports​.

DREAM​ ​big, Mike​ ​Ewan Program​ ​Director mewan@dreamprogram.org 802.338.8979