About DREAM
 Welcome to the About DREAM ("Directing through Recreation, Education, Adventure, and Mentoring") section of our website. Here you will find out about the many facets of our program. Read below to find out some general information about our program, use the navigation links on the left to get more details, or visit other sections
of our website using the navigation links above...
DREAM Overview
 Founded in 1999 by students attending Dartmouth College (see our history), DREAM is a non-profit mentoring program that pairs college students and children living in subsidized housing developments in Vermont.
DREAM combines best practices from both mentoring and community development programs to create a unique experience for the college students and the children. During weekly meetings at the colleges, the students work as a team to provide mentoring activities to children in both individual and group settings. Our volunteer mentors also work with parents from the developments to ensure that their local DREAM program is inclusive, safe, and inspiring. The long-term relationships that develop between the children and mentors are the foundation of our programs and provide a means for children to engage in positive risk-taking, see new perspectives and take advantage of community resources.
 Our organization operates on three levels to facilitate these activities. All direct service (mentoring, trips, community events, etc.) is independently planned and run by the individual Local Programs (check out a program overview). Each of these is composed of the student volunteers from a specific college and the families from the development with which they've been paired (see our network of Local Programs). In addition to these programs, our Central Office ("The DREAM Program, Inc.") was created with a state-wide focus to support the Local Programs by providing advice, resources, and other facets of indirect service (meet the Central Office). And finally, the extended DREAM family of alumni, organizations, institutions, associations, and individuals who support us along the way and allow us to have an even greater impact in the communities with which we've teamed.
The Need
Why is there such a great need in low-income communities for the services provided by DREAM? Research demonstrates that poverty significantly affects children[1]:
- Adolescent girls in poverty are much more likely to become teen mothers.
- Those who experienced poverty as children are much more likely to be poor as adults.
- Poverty in early childhood is especially associated with lower cognitive scores and school achievement.
- Increasing supervision during non-school hours reduces opportunities for youths to engage in high-risk behaviors.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation has identified four indicators that reflect on the chances of children's participation in risky behaviors: % of children living in poverty, % of children living in single-parent families, % of children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment, and % of children with a household head who is a high school dropout.
Our comparison of state and national data to Templeton Court (a development with which DREAM is working) reveals the relatively high chances of the children in our program to engage in risky behaviors. All four indicators are double, even quadruple, the state and national averages - see the chart at right for details. |
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DREAM is the only youth organization in the state that specializes in serving this rural, low-income family housing population.
The DREAM Difference
The DREAM Program is an innovative and effective mentoring program. Here are a few ways we are transforming the face of mentoring in Vermont:
- Community Development is at the heart of DREAM. While it is important to expose children to new opportunities and environments, they ultimately spend most of their time in their home community. DREAM works with families, not just individual children, to ensure continuous, high-quality programs and to empower children to reach higher in life.
- Parents Play an Integral Role. DREAM has a strong focus on community-building between mentors and the residents of the development with whom they work. These relationships are illustrated in Local Advisory Boards (LABs) which meet biweekly and empower parents to develop creative solutions in helping their children grow
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This point is illustrated by Robin Wilson, a Templeton resident and mother of two, who remarked, "since DREAM arrived here, the parents are getting more involved. Many of us are starting to care more: about our kids and about this place where we live. For the first time in a long while, I feel connected-to Templeton, to DREAM, to life and hope. Believe me, these DREAM partners are mentoring more of us than just the children!"
- Long-term Relationships are the foundation of a great mentoring program. Relationships between partners average multiple years and, because children know more than one mentor and pick a new one when their current mentor graduates, they are provided with a consistent presence.
- Summer Programming is Unique and Inspiring. The oldest group of children and their mentors work together all year to fundraise and prepare a two-week trip out west each summer. As one child in Templeton said after his first High Adventure program, "If we can go to Colorado, we can do anything!" The summer aspect also helps close the gap between school years for both the mentors and students, and add extra support during the summertime when the youth are most at risk.
- Value is inherent in DREAM's program model: The more children who participate, the lower the cost per child. We leverage funding from multiple sources, including the Housing Authorities with whom we partner, alumni donations, foundation support, and AmeriCorps grants!
- These facets are just some of the components of DREAM's new type of mentoring: Village Mentoring.
Moving Forward
 The DREAM Program, housing authorities, college students, and families have combined to create a new sense of hope for the children in our communities, and we will continue to work together to provide these children with the skills and resources they need to break the cycle of poverty. Housing developments throughout Vermont and rural New England are in need of renewed hope, and The DREAM Program will create powerful partnerships to meet this need head on. We're now seeing the initial impact and excitement of our work:
- Despite the presence of a dozen other mentoring programs at Dartmouth College, the original DREAM at Templeton Court grew to serve two housing developments with nearly 100 mentoring pairs by the end of its fourth year!
- UVM's DREAM program grew to 35 mentoring pairs by the end of its first year, and won The President's Award for Outstanding Organization at the end of its first full school year!
- The Burlington housing authority signed on with DREAM in January of 2003 to begin a program with students attending St. Michael's College. At the end of its first semester, the program had 12 mentoring pairs.
- In 2004, Champlain College, Norwich University, and Castleton State College have all started DREAM programs with local communities.
- Today, DREAM works with over 160 mentoring pairs in programs serving housing developments in White River Junction, Winooski, Windsor, Burlington, Rutland, Barre, and Milton.
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