Actress Dascha Polanco Visits DREAM - August Newsletter 2016

Newsletter
August 2016

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Actress Dascha Polanco Visits DREAM

Dascha Polanco, from the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, jumped right in on a recent visit to DREAM, inspiring our students while discussing the power of theater in its various forms. Dascha toured our school in Cabarete, met our young learners and worked with our theater students to create an improv production with all of the roles involved in a show: acting, directing, producing, and designing the set. We welcome Dascha's commitment to growing an enriching theater arts program for our students and will celebrate her philanthropic achievements and new role with DREAM on November 10th at Sueños 2016 in NYC.

International Literacy Day

DREAM students will join readers across the world in celebrating the 50th anniversary of International Literacy Day on September 8th. During the week we will be motivating community members to check out books from our libraries, leading parent-toddler reading hours and hosting a community-wide literacy fair. You can join us in supporting literacy at home by reading books aloud, sharing your favorite books with a student, or donating books to support DREAM programs. Follow worldwide events on social media at #InternationalLiteracyDay and #50ILD.

It's Back to School Time!

Since 2004, DREAM has been offering high quality early childhood education along the North Coast. This year, more than 500 children are heading back to class and eager to learn as part of our Montessori Early Childhood Education Program. Montessori teaches young learners independence, freedom within limits, and respect for personal and physical environments. Our Montessori model creates change by offering access to high quality preschool education to new communities each year. We are proud to replicate this successful program by supporting the development of the RC22 DREAM School in San Pedro de Macorís and the Montessori classroom at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos in La Romana.

Camp Scatico Rocks it Again!

For the second year, Camp Scatico's CITs (Counselors in Training), led by former DREAM volunteer Nicki Fleischner, have worked in Sabaneta de Yásica to offer an engaging summer camp to more than 70 children. Reading, art, English and sports classes made for a fun summer for the Scatico developing leaders and public school students. The Scatico Global Connections Group also painted a new mural to help the local public school get ready for the 2016-17 school year. You can read more about the group's experience on their blog.

USCJ

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism youth group came to Cabarete to give back and learn about our local Jewish history, particularly in the community of Sosúa. They re-designed the DREAM Center Park and built a volleyball court, which will offer our kids a safe place to play. We look forward to a long-term relationship with them, exploring our shared history and collaborating to improve local education opportunities.

Youth in Montellano Graduate from A Ganar Program

Twenty-one youth graduated from our first job training and life skills course held in the community of Montellano. Thanks to funding from USAID/Alerta Joven and Banco Popular, this group of talented youth has developed the skills necessary to jumpstart their careers and seek employment! In addition, Banco Popular complemented their Finanzas con Propósito workshop series - where they teach youth the importance of savings - by opening each graduate a bank account with initial funds to start building good personal finance habits. Graduates were also thrilled to receive new backpacks from Carib Wind.

DREAM Participates in 3rd USAID Alerta Joven Convention

Last week, DREAM and other nonprofit organizations across the country participated in the 3rd annual Alerta Joven Convention in Juan Dolio. The convention focused on sustainability, helping organizations develop plans to continue education, health, workforce development, and documentation programs once USAID funding ends this year. During the final awards ceremony, DREAM was honored to be nominated as one of the Top Performing Organizations from 2015-2016. This recognition inspires our team to finish our last year of the project with better results than ever before!

Behind the Scenes: Meet the A Ganar Team!

Have you ever wondered who is behind the amazing results of our programs? Now you can meet the DREAM staff members who work with our students every day, making success possible! Click here to learn more.

DREAMers of the Month

DREAM's New 2016-17 Academic Year Volunteers:
Jill Applegate, Janil Santana, Pranayeta Shroff,
Danielle Tidline, Sally Kuzma, Danielle Coony (not pictured)

We are very excited to welcome our six new year-long volunteers! Coming all the way from India, California, Kansas, Maryland, New York, and Wisconsin, they bring a diverse set of experiences and assets. The volunteers have completed their orientation week, and are now settling into their volunteer positions. They will be working within various programs including public relations, creative arts, A Ganar, English as a Second Language, Global Connections Groups, monitoring and evaluation, My Very Own Library, and more! Read their bios here. We are looking forward to seeing the impact they will have on their projects!

Donors of the Month

A special thank you to all who gave this month, including:

The RC22 Foundation
Morgan Stanley     Geomar Foundation
Raj More     Bret Rodriguez     Sherrie Mackenzie
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
AT&T Employee Giving Campaign
Stephen Guerrero     Gregory Rivas
Millennium     Leaf Restaurant     Velero     EZE Bar

A special thanks to our Shared Responsibility Partners!