Annual Report 2014

The DREAM ProgramAnnual Report 2014

Board of DirectorsPhiladelphia: Maron Deering Sam Glickman Jordan Knapp Chau Lam Angela McGeoy Elena Piperno Jon Potter Maggie Potter Julie Shen Tiffany Southerland Bryan WellensVermont: Paul Espina Katie Gibson Neil Groberg Lizzy Healy Kerry Hill Josh StewertBoston: Kristin Burdge AJ LeGaye Josh Steirman Neal Warren Jo Wong Lori Banks

Alumni CouncilFrieda Arenos Hannah Faesy Albert LeGaye Sandy MervakAnya PerretSteph BaerMonique PrevostNatalie Watson

DREAM BuildersKellie Charon Malaika DosRemediosTia Ganguly Neil Groberg Dave GurtmanLeslie Halperin Dave KestenbaumNicole L’Huillier Fenton Deb LichtenfeldDrusilla RoesseleKen RussackLinda Shaw

Growth TeamMarc AngelicoEd BialasJulia BudnickLauren EmersonVictoria FenerJon HopperNed KenneySomi KimTracy Kim HornMichelle KniffinDave MahlerAshley MasLeslie PearlNatalie ReeseLinda RomanoAbbe SokolKendra VierbickasTim WrightJarret Yoshida

Regional Board Updates

“DREAM Philly is off to a phenomenal start with two programs at Temple and one at UPenn. We recently

celebrated our one year anniversary. Looking forward, we’re focusing on fundraising, recruiting new mentors and engaging parents. With the Mentor-in-Training program in its second year, we are strengthening and adding depth to the teen curriculum. Finally, we ended 2014 on a high

note, bringing in several major grants and donations from regional partners interested in seeing us grow.”

-Maggie Potter, Philadelphia Board Chair

“2014 has been a transformative year for DREAM Boston. Rei Champion and Shavel’le Olivier joined DREAM this fall to oversee our programming. We are actively seeking opportunities to expand our footprint in and around the city, identifying potential housing community partners. Now that we have several years of successful programming under our belts, our focus in 2015 will be building our base of DREAM supporters in Boston so that we can reach more kids and strengthen our offerings.”-Alfred LeGaye, Boston Board Chair

“DREAM Vermont had a number of milestones. We expanded to the Salmon Run community and took

on the huge task of planning and fundraising for our first Capital Campaign: Building Camp DREAM. This

includes building facilities like a bathhouse and dining lodge, which will allow us to host our new DREAMers in

Boston and Philadelphia, as well as keep our Vermont DREAMers at Camp for longer! Our program sites are growing across the state and our volunteers provided

over 30,000 hours of mentoring.”-Paul Espina, Vermont Board Chair

Dear Friends,In “Our Kids,” Robert Putnam, Harvard political scientist and author, talks about the growing opportunity gap for children. His research shows that children of college-educated parents are read to throughout childhood, while children born to impoverished parents are more likely to miss school and less likely to participate in sports or constructive after-school activities. Putnam writes, “Every summer camp you went to or every piano lesson you got or every time you went to soccer club, you were getting some advantage that somebody else out there was not.”

That is where DREAM comes in. DREAM mentors, staff, and volunteers work hard to provide opportunities for youth in low-income housing. We recognize that poverty is not just an income category; poverty is a lack of resources and a lack of opportunity. We bring resources to bear for hundreds of youth so they can overcome the challenges of growing up in poverty.

In March of 2005, I accepted a position as DREAM’s Executive Director. At the time, the young organization was working with 6 colleges and 7 low-income housing neighborhoods. Today, we have programs on 15 college campuses and we work with 19 different housing communities in Vermont, Boston and Philadelphia. DREAM mentors, staff, and volunteers work hard to provide opportunities for youth to help them tackle the challenges of poverty.

The relationships forged between youth and caring college student mentors are the heart of our organization. DREAM means an adult friend and role model. It’s a trip to a museum, an opportunity to explore a college campus, and access to a broadened world view. DREAM is a summer camp, outdoor education, and a welcoming community of support for every child, mentor and family. DREAM is exactly what Robert Putnam says youth need to prosper: opportunity. We work hard to bridge the opportunity gap.

Of course, we could not do this without our mentors, volunteers and friends. Your support directly translates to the resources we are able to offer our DREAM youth.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every one of you.

Sincerely,

Mike Loner

Letter from our Chief Empowerment Officer

What did your support mean in 2014?• You expanded our reach and supported hundreds of

mentoring pairs in Vermont, Philadelphia and Boston.• You provided low-income youth with opportunities

to learn and grow through mentoring and adventure programming.

• You invested in DREAM Teens by providing programs that encourage positive goal-setting and support for post-secondary success.

In 2014, DREAM...• Provided 32,580 hours of mentoring to 362 youth in 19

housing communities.• Hosted 89 youth at Camp DREAM and planned 50

adventure trips.• Leveraged the talents of over 426 volunteers.• Provided a full year of DREAM for just $1,942 per youth.

Villa

ge M

ento

ring Village Mentoring is a blend of traditional one-on-one

mentoring and group mentoring, and involves parents and neighbors in planning and implementing activities. Village Mentoring establishes a broad community of involved and caring adults and builds an expanded network of opportunities. DREAM’s Village Mentoring model is especially effective in addressing the compounded risk factors of living in high-poverty neighborhoods.

Sarah has been Annabelle’s mentor for two years. Annabelle is 13 years old and she says that the best thing about being in DREAM is having someone to talk to when no one else is around. She says Sarah makes her happy because she listens and they have so much

in common. Both Sarah and Annabelle love to dance and do arts and crafts together in the art building on campus. Annabelle says, “My relationship with Sarah is meaningful

because Sarah is nice, helpful, loving, and caring, which cheers me up when I am down.”

One of Annabelle and Sarah’s favorite stories is when they made a tiny snowman on a winter day. Sarah says that having a mentee like Annabelle has helped her to appreciate

the energy of youth and to remember to have some fun every once in a while!

Meet Annabelle

Summ

er Programm

ingSummer programming is also an integral component

of DREAM’s mentoring model. During the summer, many youth experience a “developmental slide” due

to the lack of structured educational opportunities. DREAM summer programming is designed to establish

continuity between school years and strengthen DREAM’s connection to the housing sites. Our

summer staff provide community-based programming, adventure trips, sailing expeditions and of course,

Camp DREAM.

Meet AutumnAutumn has been going to Camp DREAM for ten years. She is an enthusiasticspokesperson for the 50-acre summer haven. “My favorite things about Camp DREAM are the memories I make and the new people that I meet,” Autumn says. “I walk away from camp with a mental collection of names and memories that I can take with me wherever I go.”

When she was invited to become a Counselor-in-Training, she was excited for the opportunity to take on new roles and learn leadership skills. She enjoys the challenge of new responsibilities and can’t wait for summer at Camp DREAM!

Teen

Pro

gram

min

g DREAM recognizes that the needs of youth change as they grow, and especially as they enter adolescence. DREAM has a robust curriculum of staff-led, teen-centered opportunities- focused on college access and talent development- to meet the teens’ changing needs. While the weekly, college campus-based Village Mentoring continues for teens, DREAM also offers teen-specific opportunities, including our Mentor-in-Training (MiT) Program, College Road Trip, and Teen Retreats.

Tomas lives in Westpark Apartments with his mother and little sister. He is usually quiet, and sometimes prefers conversation with adults than with his peers.

Workers at Westpark Apartments referred Tomas to DREAM Staff during the early days of DREAM Philadelphia. He was one of the original participants in DREAM

Philadelphia’s MiT Program.

His time in DREAM has helped him open up more; he is constantly interacting with the younger mentees and has grown more comfortable speaking in front of groups. He is a model for the other participants and was an integral part of

DREAM Philadelphia’s first run of summer programming which took place in 2014. He has also developed professionally, becoming a talented communicator and

placing great emphasis on accountability in his community.

Meet Tomas

Financials

$256,595!

$162,215!

$133,133!

$73,109!$45,015!$25,814!$10,963!Government Partners - 1.5%!

Nonprofit Partners - 7%!United Way Partners - 3.5%!

Source of Funding!

Total Revenue - $706,844!

Individual Supporters - 36%!

Housing Partners - 23%!

Foundation Partners - 19%!

Corporate Partners - 10%!

Village !Mentoring!

!$274,791!

Summer Site!Programming!

!$143,440!

CampDREAM!

!$134,974!

General Admin!!

$64,764!Fundraising!

!$60,367!

Use of Funding!

40%! 21%!20%!

10%! 9%!

Total Expenses—$678,336!

For more information on The DREAM Program or to make a contribution, visit dreamprogram.org.

Thank you to our donors and supporters.

Thank you for DREAMing with us!

DREAM

“I am an adult. I am engaged. I am strong and wise. And the majority of it goes to DREAM.”

Ashley, DREAM Participant