What’s Up, Upstate New York? DREAM Comes to the Capital Region

Mary Beth Fowler stands outside of Newest Lunch, a diner across the street from DREAM Capital Region's first site.

The DREAM Program's story starts in 1999 with a single site in Vermont, and a group of intrepid volunteers who had a vision to spread DREAM's reach far beyond. Today, a new chapter of DREAM's story is beginning. A new site has been established in the Capital Region of upstate New York and behind the scenes is Senior Youth Service Director, Mary Beth Fowler, coming to DREAM after co-founding a nonprofit that supports youth literacy.

From The RED Bookshelf to DREAM Capital Region

When she first came to the Capital Region from Florida over 20 years ago, Mary Beth and her family found that the cold winters were outweighed by the community that they found. "I don't like the winter, but, you know, the people here are worth the weather," she said with a laugh. It wasn't long before she co-founded The RED Bookshelf, which has successfully distributed more than 250,000 free books to children in Albany. Much like The DREAM Program, The RED Bookshelf believes in uplifting and supporting communities by enabling youth to take charge of their futures, supporting their growth and expanding opportunities. 

DREAM Capital Region Partnerships

Mary Beth Fowler in front of the Hillside Crossing apartments in Schenectady.

Albany, where Mary Beth began The RED Bookshelf, is one of three urban areas in the Capital Region, along with Schenectady and Troy. The new chapter of DREAM's story begins in Schenectady's Hamilton Hill neighborhood with the Hillside Crossing housing community. The city of Schenectady is historically the territory of the Mohawk nation, with its name coming from the Mohawk word skahnéhtati, which means "beyond the pines." From colonial history to present day, Schenectady has been a major industrial and transportation hub as the home of General Electric and the Erie Canal. Now, with an official partnership between DREAM and the housing group that runs Hillside Crossing, Schenectady will soon see the start of DREAM's youth mentorship and enrichment programming!

Beyond Schenectady, there are even more opportunities for DREAM Capital Region to grow. Outside of its three urban areas, the Capital Region has a diverse multitude of rural and suburban communities in its 11 counties. "We're starting partnering here in Schenectady,... but eventually there's also need in areas that aren't urban," Mary Beth said, when expressing the diversity of communities in the area.

"We're looking at really providing high quality mentorship to kids in low income communities, really, across the region." — Mary Beth Fowler, Senior Youth Service Director

What’s on the Horizon for the DREAM Capital Region

When Mary Beth began her work at DREAM Capital Region, she imagined quick growth throughout the area, but has come to the conclusion that slow and steady has its own benefits. Mary Beth says her focus is "very much on making sure that when we do work with individuals, and families, and communities, that we are there to stay. And...also planning in a way that we’re not just kind of trying to go really big, really fast, and spread too thin." With Mary Beth's experience in growing nonprofits, and her dream to steadily expand through the area, DREAM Capital Region has a promising future.

If you'd like to be part of DREAM Capital Region, you can connect with us through email to learn about opportunities to get involved. DREAM Capital Region's story is just beginning, but with the support of this area's community, its families and youth, and our national DREAM network, there's much more to come.

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