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Introducing the New Elk Class
We are proud to announce the addition of our eighth active Dreamer Class based at the Kalmia Housing Site in conjunction with Boulder Housing Partners. Second and third graders living in three north Boulder housing sites will make up this new "Elk" class and will receive over 12 years of after-school and summer programming focusing on their academic and social emotional development in order to prepare them for college and a successful career. Programming will take place at the new Kalmia Community Center. Jorge Cisneros was hired earlier this year to be the full-time program director for this class and began working with some of these new Dreamers and their families over the summer in preparation for launching the class this school year. The official dedication ceremony will take place later this fall where we will officially welcome all of these students and their parents into the "I Have a Dream" family!
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Thank You AmeriCorps Members!
The end of July brought the conclusion of the 2015-2016 Notre Dame AmeriCorps term. "I Have a Dream" had a team of 32 members serving throughout Boulder County; they spent 11 months supporting, motivating, and empowering the youth of the area through direct service. We are beyond thankful for their selfless dedication and unwavering conviction that these individuals brought to the team at a time of growth and development for our organization. We are excited to have three of the members join us in full time staff positions in the College Department, AmeriCorps Department and at the Phoenix site. In September, we will be welcoming the new team of 35 Notre Dame AmeriCorps, 11 of whom are returning for their second year serving "I Have a Dream" and our partner sites. We are thrilled to get this new team together and leap into another year of 'Getting Things Done'!
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Summer Fun at Thorne Nature Experience
This summer, four Dreamers from the Iris Class held paid internships at
Thorne
Nature Experience. These interns assisted
Thorne
outdoor educators in hosting groups of younger students who attended summer camps at
Thorne
. Our Dreamer interns built leadership skills working alongside professionals in the field of outdoor education.
(Photos left to right) Dreamer Elizabeth
was thanked for her summer of service by Gwen Tenney, her internship supervisor, and "I Have a Dream" CEO Lori Canova. Griffin Dreamer Joseph and Rocky Mountain Dreamers Sheccid and Fernando had fun on their fieldtrips!
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STEAM Exploration at the Local Dreamer Conference
On Friday, July 22, 170 elementary and middle school Dreamers gathered at Alexander Dawson School for the annual Boulder County Dreamer Conference, a daylong event
for Dreamers of all ages. The conference was planned by Dreamer representatives from all our classes. Workshops
focused on a technology theme and taught Dreamers about careers and innovations in the technology field.
Presenters included: Bitsbox, EnergiSimple, Boulder Public Library, Kinsey Durham, and Laurel Olfson. The event was sponsored by Hasbro, Inc.!
(Clockwise from top left) Dreamers bake cookies in a solar oven and learn the basics of coding online with BitsBox and with the Robot Turtles board game.
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Sharing and Learning with Our Peers
This year's National "I Have a Dream" Foundation staff conference was held in Denver, so we were able to have most staff members attend sessions over the course of this two day event. Together with members from 13 other affiliates in the nation and New Zealand, we attended training sessions, shared lessons we have learned from our work, discussed ideas for future success with each other, and had a great time catching up with old colleagues and meeting new ones. Several of our staff members presented at the conference on a variety of topics.
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Welcome Christian Wigert, new AmeriCorps Program Coordinator
Christian Wigert first joined the "I Have a Dream" Foundation in 2013 as a volunteer for the Phoenix class. After volunteering for a year, he went on to serve two years as a Notre Dame AmeriCorps member for the Griffin class in Lafayette. Christian joined the Central Office staff this summer as the AmeriCorps Program Coordinator. Originally from Colorado, he earned a BA in psychology and a minor in Education from CU Boulder. Christian has experience tutoring, coaching, mentoring, teaching and running after school academics/enrichment with "I Have a Dream". Christian is proud to be working towards narrowing the education and achievement gap in the community he grew up in.
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Stanford Fellows Make a Lasting Contribution
This summer we hosted three of six Stanford Fellows who donated their time and talent to the nonprofit community in Boulder County to work on the Dream Big Initiative whose goal is to close the achievement gap in our community. In six weeks they spent time with our elementary, middle school, and rising high school Dreamers as well as researched and wrote materials which will be incorporated into our programming in the coming year.
Eglen Galindo worked with
Griffin students at Angevine Middle School in Lafayette and created Parent Engagement: A Guide to College for us to use as a resource;
Molly Forgarty worked with Phoenix Dreamers at Casey Middle School in Boulder and wrote the report
Literacy: Assessment and Intervention to help guide our educational programming; and
Andrea Ruedas worked with Oak Dreamers at Columbine Elementary in Boulder and completed a project for Boulder Housing Partners. Thank you Eglen, Molly, and Andrea!
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Reserve Your Seat Today for the 19th Annual Dream-Maker Luncheon
Join us on September 23rd from 11:00-1:00 at Ascent Church in Louisville (former Sam's Club Location on McCaslin) for an inspiring program as we hear from Dreamers, program Alumni, families, educators, volunteers, and sponsors on how a community comes together to help our youth succeed in school and beyond.
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Calling All Volunteers!
"I Have a Dream" is looking for more than 400 volunteers to support youth as mentors, tutors, and program volunteers this fall.
Applications for fall placements will be accepted through August 31.
Volunteer trainings will be held from 6-7:30PM on August 30, 31, September 6, 7, 8, and 13.
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Upcoming Events
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September 19th
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September 23rd
550 S. McCaslin Blvd, Louisville
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October 12th
4:00 - 5:30pm
Griffin Class
Angevine Middle School (Lafayette)
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*Click to RSVP
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2016 Corporate Dream-Makers
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About the "I Have a Dream" Foundation of Boulder County
Since 1990, the award-winning "I Have a Dream" Foundation of Boulder County has assisted 800 children from low-income areas in achieving their education and career goals by providing long-term personal and academic support, tutoring, mentoring and four-year tuition-assistance scholarships to each graduating student. The organization sponsors entire groups of students from elementary schools or from low-income housing sites and works with these children and their families from elementary school through high school graduation and then "to and through" college. Currently, there are seven active "I Have a Dream" classes in Boulder County, with three classes in Boulder, two in Longmont and two in Lafayette. The "I Have a Dream" Foundation of Boulder County has doubled expected graduation rates for its graduating classes of students and has awarded $2 million in scholarships. The program follows the national model established in New York in 1981 by founder Eugene Lang.
"I Have a Dream" Foundation of Boulder County |
5390 Manhattan Circle #200 | Boulder | Colorado | 80303
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