Current News

As a DREAM mentor for the last three years, I quickly noticed how polar differences between the Dartmouth Bubble of Hanover, NH and life in low-income housing in White River Junction. During my first year in DREAM, a student-led nonprofit mentoring organization ago that matches college students with children in disadvantaged neighborhoods throughout Vermont, I often wondered and was frustrated about why it was so difficult to simply communicate with the families. The answer was simple. Dartmouth students are online and by their cell phones 24-7. Parents & children in our communities are not, and some don’t even have active land lines. I later discovered that this fundamental lack of connectivity limits families’ opportunities for success in many other aspects of life, beyond being able to communicate with DREAM mentors. From job-searching online, to taking online classes and being able to trouble-shoot general problems such as simple car-repairs or finding local childcare, internet access offers endless possibilities in today’s world.

Recognizing this lack of connectivity was one of the inspirations for the year-long fellowship I am now working on full-time for the summer. The fellowship’s goal is to sustainably improve DREAM’s impact in the community in a few ways – by improving the involvement and communication between parents in the community, by improving parents’ access to social services Upper Valley, and by improving the leadership structure of DREAM so as to help mentors work with the children and their parents, thereby advancing DREAM’s mission of building stronger communities.

This summer, with my initial funding from the generous Class of ’82 Dartmouth Alumni, I was able to purchase four refurbished computer systems from WinCycle, and have installed them in the community center buildings in each complex. However, I soon discovered that providing internet service to these computers was going to be well beyond my budget for project materials. And so I started calling every service provider out there to see what I could find. That’s when Comcast came to the rescue, awarding DREAM a $1000 grant to be used toward technology expenses in the communities over the next year. This grant will go along way towards ensuring that the work I’ve begun this summer can be sustained over the next many years of DREAM’s existence. And for that I am incredibly thankful.

Brian Bensch
DREAM Mentor & Community Liaison

The Corporation for National and Community Service honored Ben & Jerry’s with a Spirit of Service Corporate Award, which recognizes exceptional participants in each of its programs and outstanding corporate and foundation partners. Ben & Jerry’s is being honored for its three year partnership with the DREAM program. Among other achievements, Ben & Jerry volunteers helped build a ropes course, construct a canoe rack and prepared an organic garden for participants of Camp DREAM.

When DREAM became an AmeriCorps program in 2007, thereby doubling its staff, the organization faced a lack of sufficient office space. Ben & Jerry’s provided the needed space. The entire company welcomed the staff to the building, offered organizational advice, and donated printing to DREAM’s annual appeal. The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation provided a $5,000 grant last year and included DREAM in the annual alternative holiday gift fair. As part of AmeriCorps Week, the Corporation for National and Community Service honored a handful of outstanding AmeriCorps members, alums, and corporate sponsors with Spirit of Service Awards in recognition of their contributions to national service.

Looking for fun? Check out our Annual Report to see the amazing adventures our mentors and kids take on.

2007 Annual Report

Report Reactions:

Hey guys, read through this over the weekend—its fantastic! You are all doing such a
great job.
-Scott Mishara

I just read the whole thing. Amazing. I am so happy for you that the program is thriving the way it is. Well done!
-Lt. Jennifer Morrison, Burlington Police

Very impressive report. WOW!
-Cpt. Mike Wineberg, Essex Rescue

I noticed at the end it talks about expanding outside of Vermont, should we start talking to our friends in other states about possibly heading up a program?
-Josh Nagle, Champlain Mentor

Wow. Amazing. Absolutely beautiful! Congratulations.
-Jon Harris



Franklin Square in Boston

Franklin Square DREAM is going GREEN!

-notes from Franklin Square's Meeting

Last night at our meeting, a mentor proposed purchasing carbon offsets to cover all of our CO2 impact from our weekly driving activities. With overwhelming support from all of those at the meeting, we decided to purchase those offsets, for $20, which will make St. Michael's DREAM carbon neutral for the 2007-2008 year!

Here are some figures of our van driving impact:

We drive (3) large vans with a poor fuel efficiency of approximately 15 mpg, 6 miles each way from Franklin Sq to SMC (6 miles x 4 trips each week x 3 vans = 72 driving miles each week! Multiply that by 30 weeks in the school year, and we get 2.160 miles of driving just from Franklin Square and back!! Divide this by our 15 mpg (2,160 miles/15mpg = 144 gallons of fuel!!) Each consumed gallon of fuel emits approximately 20 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere. Multiply this by our consumption (144 gallons x 20 lbs of CO2), and our program alone emits 2,880 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere every year! This figure does NOT take into account our extra trips or any one-on-one mentoring excursions.

Purchasing our carbon offset will ensure that reforestation projects or other CO2 sequestering projects will be undertaken to offset our CO2 emissions. For more information on the CO2 offsets we will be purchasing, please go here: http://www.carbonfund.org

Please note that our driving causes a lot more damage than just CO2 emissions - carbon monoxide, particulate matter, formaldehyde, and other noxious chemicals are also emitted while burning our fuel and using our vans.

Thanks again to all the DREAMers that supported this initiative!!

This is the first DREAM Program to take on this initiative. They will also be handing out compact florescent bulbs to their families after the semester finale Pasta Dinner.

This past February, youth from The Dream Program and Spectrum Youth Services made the trip from Burlington Vermont to Washington DC on Dream’s big blue bus that runs on waste vegetable oil. They rolled into the city for the national low-income housing coalition conference and a week of volunteer service work throughout the capital city. The Dream Program, An Americorps state program, is a Vermont mentoring organization that pairs college students with children from affordable housing communities. Spectrum provides shelter, education and career counseling for homeless, foster and at-risk youth in Burlington.

Together the two programs increased their member’s experiences of being effective youth citizens, broadening their social network and were given opportunities to use their voices publicly. Eleven members of the group attended the Low Income Housing Coalition Conference where they observed low income housing advocates from around the country, while the other thirteen volunteered at the DC central kitchen, a soup kitchen that provides 4,500 meals to DC’s impoverished. During the week, the group came together to meet with Vermont Senator, Patrick Leahy, at his bi-monthly Vermonter Tuesday. The group also made sure not to miss such historical landmarks as The Washington Monument, The Holocaust Museum and The Lincoln Memorial.

A trip of this scale and collaboration is a first for the Dream Program and we are anticipating similar adventures to become annual. As the whirlwind of the first Dream service trip comes to an end, our gusto has not! Dream and Spectrum are looking forward to the future as service and advocacy continue to be at the forefront of their social missions. To learn more information about dream and spectrum visit:

www.dreamprogram.org
www.spectrum.org

Jeremy Ellis, senior at Champlain College and mentor with The Birchwood Community has been selected as one of this year's recipients of the Vermont Campus Compact Madeline M. Kunin Public Service Award. Vermont Campus Compact stated that "This award distinguishes one remarkable student from a VCC member institution for their outstanding public service and leadership, demonstrated through a spectrum of efforts. Through their sustained involvement, the recipient establishes a linkage of their service to a larger social context and a commitment to community impact. The recipient of this award models deeply ingrained civic responsibility and leadership, evidenced by initiative, innovative approaches to community issues, and effective community building."

Ellis' accomplishments will be honored with statewide recognition at the Vermont Campus Compact's Gala: A Celebration of Service, Service-Learning and Civic Engagement to be held at the Dudley H. Davis Center at the University of Vermont on Tuesday, March 18 from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. The audience at the Gala will be comprised of legislators, college presidents, businesses, faculty, staff, students and community members.

Congratulations, Jeremy, on your excellent work! DREAM is so proud!