A Busy Summer at DREAM! - July Newsletter 2017

Newsletter

July 2017

DREAMer of the Month
Molly Hamm

The end of an era!! After six years, Molly Hamm, DREAM's Associate Director, is leaving DREAM to pursue a Ph.D. in Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity at the University of Colorado - Boulder in the School of Education. She helped build DREAM into a high quality NGO with a reach across the Dominican Republic. She will be missed, but her impact on the organization will be felt forever.

DREAM DPV (Sports for Life ) Conference

Deportes para la Vida (DPV) continues providing enrichment and empowerment opportunities to youth leaders (change agents) via the Northern Regional Conference, held from July 21-23, 2017. Forty-two active coaches from the different curricular programs (DPV, Única, Luchadores por el Cambio) strengthened their technical skills as coaches through workshops and dynamic activities. Attendees shared and learned about the different experiences of other coaches throughout the network while also celebrating achievements from the past semester. In the first half of 2017, these coaches taught 35 programs, graduating 574 youth participants in all three curricula.

Defending the Environment

How can we protect the environment? This is the question our 1,000 summer camp students tackled in seven different camps this summer, inspired by Villa Taina, Claudia Schwarz and our Green Cabarete Program. They studied the cycle of life and how humans affect our environment. During their final presentations this week, they showed their learning through story books, recycled art projects, originally written songs and raps and skits. DREAM is proud to celebrate its 10th year as a fully academic camp model with teacher training and local and international volunteers, along with amazing partners like Green Cabarete. This program will continue through the year, empowering our local youth to take charge of their own community, environment and future!

Onward and Upward!
Alerta Joven Continues

DREAM is proud to announce we have been selected as one of 8 organizations to extend the USAID-funded Alerta Joven grant for another 18 months. We will be continuing our intensive A Ganar program workforce development and Young Stars school retention programs and growing school insertion programs. Our school insertion programs involve working with local schools and communities to motivate youth to return to school and give them the skills and support necessary to succeed. DREAM's activities will reach 525 children and youth in the provinces of Puerto Plata, María Trinidad Sánchez, and Samaná.

Duarte: Founder of a Republic

A big thank you to Dustin Muñoz, the Dominican Republic Ministry of Culture and the Teatro Rodante Dominicano for presenting Duarte: Founder of a Republic to our summer camp students in Cabarete. This interactive presentation of Duarte's life let the students explore through drama how Juan Pablo Duarte shaped the ideals of the Republic and learn how the Trinitaria was formed to spread a movement for independence. As DREAM will grow its theater program with the help of Dascha Polanco, it was a strong illustration of how history and theater can come together to provide deeper understanding of social events.

More Global Connections Than Ever in 2017

Our bridge to global volunteerism, Global Connections, has had almost 100 DREAMers (Education First, Camp Scatico and USY) on the ground this month to round out the summer of 2017. All in all, we hosted more than 20 groups this season, with more than 300 volunteers working in 10 communities to support more than 1,000 youth. Our groups are creating change, connecting cultures, teaching, contributing to local economies and supporting underfunded schools, teachers and organizations. If you know someone interested in bringing a group and changing lives, please visit our website to learn more.

Donors of the Month

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

Camp Scatico     LA Dodgers     Alex Head
Pan American Academy Charter School     JetBlue
Education First     Adventures Cross Country
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

Brad Richards     Villa Taina     Michael Benner
Juan Perdomo Century 21     Harvey Brown
Jeanluc Burggraeve     Phil Williams     Karen Parsons
Richard Weber     Glenn & Victoria Keller    Sherrie Mackenzie
Karin Dobbin     Christian Barrios     Wayne Williams
Judith Young     Jon Wunderlich     Gary Hawley
Gordon Segal     Jennifer Estrella     Denise Reid
Jon Erickson     Erik Cima     Frank Williams
Arthur W. Porter     Christopher Lopez     Dr. Mark Kemenosh
Anne Williams      Obra Duarte Fundador de la República
Kevin Armando LaMastra     MJ & Carib Wind Cabarete
Adam Gutman, InspireDR     Angie Wolff

A special thanks to our Shared Responsibility Partners!