"I Have A Dream" Foundation of Boulder County
5390 Manhattan Circle #200| Boulder, Colorado 80303| 303-444-3636   www.ihaveadreamboulder.org 
Press Release
For Immediate Release: June 5, 2019
"I Have A Dream" Local Boulder County Dreamer Conference Kicks Off Summer for Students

Boulder, Colorado (June 5, 2019)  - The "I Have A Dream" Foundation of Boulder County (IHDF) will unite its students at its annual local conference to kick off the summer with educational workshops, panels, games, and more. This year's theme is Dreams to Reality and focuses on building pathways, of all types, for students. 

Approximately 250 students ─ called Dreamer Scholars─ including those served by IHDF's Healthy Together partnership with the City of Boulder, will gather at Peak to Peak Charter School in Lafayette for the day-long event. 
The event will include tailored sessions for students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Elementary students will hear from local Latinx professionals in a variety of careers including an engineer, architect, and paramedic to learn more about the possibilities available to them.  Middle and high schoolers will participate in two panels hosted by current and graduated Dreamer Scholars following various post-secondary paths, including those in technical and vocational programs, 4-year-degree programs, and in the workforce. I HDF President and CEO Lori Canova will also address the students followed by the key note given by spoken word artist  Ara Cruz with a theme of "Words to Power".

"This is a time to gather together as a community and learn from and be inspired by each other," said Garett Brownlee Plantz, IHDF's Vice President of Programs. She added, "We all learn best from people we admire and hold a shared experience with so I am honored that so many local Latinx professionals and Dreamer Scholar alumni are willing to share their stories with us."

IHDF currently serves students in 12 cohorts in the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts. Of its 690+ students, 91% self-identify as Persons of Color and 83% self-identify as Latinx. 
 
This event is generously supported by Peak to Peak Charter School, Sancho's Mexican Restaurant, and volunteers from Medtronic.

Interview and Photo Opportunity: Friday, June 7 , Press is invited to take photos of the event including photos of the Dreamer Scholars at the key note event and afterward, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at  Peak to Peak Charter School,  800 Merlin Dr, Lafayette, CO 80026.
Lori Canova, CEO
303-444-3636 x116 | 303-669-8831
About the "I Have A Dream" Foundation of Boulder County
Since 1990, the award-winning "I Have A Dream" Foundation of Boulder County (IHDF) has assisted 1,000 children from low-income communities achieve their dreams of college  by providing long-term personal and academic support, tutoring, mentoring and four-year tuition-assistance scholarships to each graduating student. The program follows the national model established in New York in 1981 by founder Eugene Lang. The organization sponsors entire groups of students from elementary schools, or from low-income housing sites, and works with these children and their families through high school graduation and into post-high school education. Currently, there are 12 active "I Have A Dream" classes in the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley School Districts. IHDF  has doubled expected graduation rates for those in its program and has awarded over $3 million in scholarships to date.  Learn more...