Newsletter
September 2017


DREAMer of the Month
Laura Elisa Esteves 
 

 
Our September DREAMer of the Month is Laura Elisa Esteves, a graduate from A Ganar in Gaspar Hernandez. At the beginning of the course, Laura was in the process of adapting to her new life in Gaspar Hernandez. She grew up in Italy with her parents, who due to economic problems, returned to Dominican Republic to start again.  

A little nervous and shy but with a great desire to overcome, Laura was excited to learn new tools that allowed her to develop personally and professionally. Laura plans to finish high school and obtain work allowing her to help her parents with household expenses. 

A Ganar helps you to get to know yourself better, identifying your potential, making new friends and contacts, getting to know the Dominican labor market and providing quality customer service. A broad smile, a positive attitude and desire to learn are the qualities that characterize Laura, strengths that allowed her to obtain a formal job at the Bologna Restaurant in Sosua after finishing her internship. Very proud of her, and wishing her success always.
Our New 2017-2018 Annual Report is Here!  
  
Each September, we have the honor of unveiling a summary of our hard work,  our results and our shared vision moving forward. Please take a moment to learn how we have grown to serve more than 8,000 youth and created a continued understanding of how high quality education can change the world. 
Clean Cabarete
GREEN Cabarete
     
Did you know? 
  • It takes 450-1000 years for plastic bottles to decompose. 
  • It could take a million years for a glass bottle to decompose. 
  • The amount of trash on the beaches world wide has increased 140% since 1994. 
  • 136,000 seals and whales are trapped in plastic every year.
With gloves on and garbage bags in hand, almost 200 students, teachers and community members set out to clean up the La Cienaga beach area. We partnered with Villa Taina Hotel, International School of Sosua and InspireDR in honor of the International Coastal Cleanup and National Cleaning Day in Dominican Republic creating awareness and educating by setting example. Filling over 80 bags of garbage we are so proud of our community and the efforts made toward a cleaner Cabarete.
Baseball Cares Books Unveiled! 

   
The four winners of the Baseball Cares Young Authors' competition experienced the excitement of becoming published authors at the book launch hosted by Major League Baseball in Santo Domingo this month. The event featured the three winning titles: Los Reyes del Beisbol, Daniel el Pelotero Ama a su Escuela and El Sueño de Rafael, all of which were professionally illustrated and published. Written by students, each book features characters and settings that are uniquely Dominican. The books will be distributed to schools throughout the region and will be sure to engage students who will see their own lives reflected in each story. 
A Ganar Graduation 
Gaspar Hernandez


With great joy, we celebrated the graduation of A Ganar in the community of Gaspar Hernandez. The program was a success thanks to the joint venture of UTESA University Recinto Gaspar Hernandez INFOTEP and The DREAM Project.
 
A total of 21 young adults successfully completed Deportes para la Vida, the Life Skills program, Customer Service training, Intensive English, Effective Handling of Digital Presentations, Etiquette, and Personal and Professional Development modules.
 
Congratulations to our young people for the achievement of this great goal, now they are ready to take on the challenges of working life and contribute to the improvement of our communities.

Bravo... Bravissimo!
Building on Success in Las Terrenas


Our newest Young Stars classroom opened its doors in Las Terrenas this month and we are excited for DREAM to have a year-round presence in the community. The Young Stars program will build on the successful results of our local summer camp which, over the past three years and with the support of The Dominican Joe Foundation, has reached over 300 students. During the school year we will be partnering with two local public schools to bring instructional support, books and a love of reading to the classrooms and dozens of new participants!
Training Young Community Leaders


Luchadores Por El Cambio has begun training a new round of community leaders. Six young men are training to bring awareness to topics that directly affect young men in the Dominican Republic including sexual health, machismo, violence, and risky behaviors. The curriculum covers 12 topics that are taught through practical and dynamic exercises, as well as experiential learning. Activities include acting out real life situations, brainstorming and group discussions based on personal experience. The aim of Luchedores Por El Cambio training is to equip new leaders to educate young men in the Dominican Republic on topics relevant to their daily lives. Once these young men have completed their training, they will begin conducting the program in their own communities. By empowering young men with this information we hope to bring greater awareness on these topics and ultimately bring about social change.
Donors of the Month 

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

Friends & Family of Anne Feeley (My Very Own Library)
The RC22 Foundation      Friends School of Wilmington  
Phoenix Tower International
The Dominican Board of Tourism
US Embassy, Santo Domingo     Mary Propes     Entrena, SRL
Michael Isaacson      Las Palmas Cigar Co.      Scott Silverman
LitWorld International, Inc.     The Butterfly Effect
Audrey Meyer, Tatiana Howard & Michelle Bourdeau
Victoria & Glenn Keller     Corrie Blackwelder
Huber-Resor Charitable Fund     Sherrie Mackenzie
Jose Cueto & Medtronic
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Steven Nelson     Albert Bronstein     Dima Lohmatov
Pamela Resor     Erik Cima     Dr. Mark Kemenosh
Christopher Lopez     Lydia Wazana
Strength for the Journey DR      Cabarete Fashion Show
Benjamin De Menil
 
A special thanks to our Shared Responsibility Partners!

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