The Blue Wagon
Alumni Newsletter – March 2012
Inside This Issue Amuse Bouche & Announcements Meet the Alumni Council - Chris Ellingwood Calling for Camp DREAM Volunteers Meet the Board of Directors – Paul Espina DREAMers of Templeton – Where are they now? Nonprofit Job Bulletin DREAM Doppelgängers
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AMUSE BOUCHE By Adam Goldfarb, Alumni Council President Hi DREAMers, What an amazing first few weeks as the new DREAM AC Prez! I've had conversations with everyone on the Alumni Council, plus another few people on the Board, and I was awed by the amount of energy, passion, and commitment our Alumni volunteers bring to the Organization. I have not, however, had many conversations with YOU, our Alumni base! Before I comb through the spreadsheet with your contact information, if you have anything you'd like to reach out to me about, my email is in my sign-off below. My colleagues and I on the Alumni Council are here to help you make DREAM better, and we'd love to hear from you. When I spoke with Brian Bensch, The Blue Wagon Editor Extraordinaire, he made a good point: "No one knows who you are or what you do." Clearly, "Air of Mystery" is not the best cologne for me, so I’ll give everyone the Facebook-abridged version. I work at a relatively new nonprofit called Educurious (http://educurious.org/). We create courses for high school students that integrate project-based learning with input on student work from realworld Experts to make subjects more relevant to students. As is the case for all DREAM Alumni, I'm inspired by the opportunity to positively influence the lives of young people, and I'm lucky to be surrounded by those who feel the same way at work as in certain, ahem, mentoring organizations with which I'm involved. I relocated from New York to Seattle when I took the job, and have recently rediscovered my love for rock climbing. I plan to ski eventually, though I successfully avoided it this year. Hope that explains things! If you have any questions for me, I'm always available by email. Thanks for reading, and keep DREAMing. Adam Goldfarb DREAM Alumni Council President 2012-2014 adam.k.goldfarb@gmail.com
ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Hot off the press: New colors of DREAM Tees are in! Turquoise, lieutenant, poppy, and truffle are just a few of the choices. Head over to http://www.dreamprogram.org/store/index.htm to buy online now. 2. From the Central Office: Would you like to be among the very first people in the world to read DREAM's 2011 Annual Report? We are looking for a few good DREAMers with strong editing and writing skills to help us make this year’s report shine. We plan on wrapping up the draft of the report in April and, as they say in Boston, it would be a "Wicked Pissa" if we could find one or two volunteers to help us polish it off. Please contact mike@dreamprogram.org if you are interested. 3. Kudos to the Pine Meadow local program for being recently selected as the Middlebury College recipient of the Vermont Campus Compact 2012 Engaged Community Partner Award. 4. Attention Boston Alumni! The Boston DREAM office is holding the first Boston DREAMstock all-mentor retreat this Sunday, April 1st from 12-5pm, and would love for you to join in on the fun! Come meet the Boston mentors, share your DREAM experiences, and help inspire current mentors to make the most of their DREAM experience. If you are interested in attending please fill out this RSVP: http://goo.gl/jfRjc and feel free to email Jessica@dreamprogram.org if you have any questions.
Meet the Alumni Council By Chris Ellingwood, Constitution Keeper 1. Who am I? Name – Chris Ellingwood Age – 28 Hometown – Windsor, Connecticut Current Residence – Cape Elizabeth, Maine Alma Mater – Champlain College 2006 DREAM Local Program – Birchwood Favorite Disney Character – Goofy! 2. Why did you originally join DREAM in college? I was involved with the original group to bring DREAM to Champlain. I was the Resident Assistant at the Community Service dorm, and we were looking for a project that the community could be involved in. After DREAM came and presented to us, we visited a few events at UVM and absolutely fell in love with everything the program offered and provided to the kids and the mentors. I couldn’t be prouder that we helped build Champlain from a small program to the thriving program it is today. 3. What are you doing now? (Work, school, etc.) Are you volunteering outside of your job? I work full-time as a manager at a CPA (accounting) firm in Portland, Maine. I specialize in the Lottery and Gambling segment, completing Information Technology Security reviews and internal control audits. I know, pretty wild, but I love it. I travel a ton and get to see the country and soon England, while I work! Besides the Alumni Council, I don’t do other volunteering work, my schedule is pretty tight with the travel!! 4. Are you where you expected to be this many years out of college? What are your “next step” plans? I’m very happy where I am! This is never where I saw myself when I was a freshmen in college, but at the same time, I followed the open doors that were provided to me and am very successful and happy. I would like to pursue my Masters Degree, which I have started the process for and eventually I would like to become a professor – teaching auditing and fraud at a College or University. I’m just living my life and enjoying every day, I have two beautiful nieces who I get to see often and enjoying spending time with them, my family and friends. Living in Maine I enjoy the outdoors, which is so easy when the ocean is out my backdoor and the ski mountains are an hour away. 5. What prompted you to consider joining the Alumni Council? What do you hope to achieve as part of the Council? I joined the Alumni Council (AC) because I was finally settled enough in my career to “get back on the wagon!” (pun definitely intended). I’ve always loved DREAM and felt this was the time for me to get back involved, and at a higher level. I love being able to help guide the direction of the overall program, hear all of the successes, and provide my insight. My biggest goal on the AC is help keep DREAM in communication with an active and involved Alumni base. I want to see DREAM grow and become this large, amazing mentoring program that people across the country know about, support, and root for. The mission of DREAM is amazing, and I stand behind everything it aims to do for the kids, mentors, and community. 6. What is your position on the Council? What does that mean on a day-to-day basis? I am the Constitution Keeper on the AC. I have a number of administrative duties, and I also take on some side projects. My largest and most important job is to make sure the AC stays true to the constitution. I also maintain the constitution and make amendments to it (that is voted on by the entire council). I run elections and also take minutes at our monthly meetings. I am working on a few side projects including a shared AC Calendar and eventually a DREAM Alumni-wide shared calendar so the Alumni world knows what we are doing, can read our minutes, and most importantly know what their respective programs are doing. Stay tuned to The Blue Wagon for an announcement!
Meet the Alumni Council – Cont’d 7. What is your favorite memory of DREAM from when you were in college? Well I have two, so sorry I’m long winded! Very early off in our first year we noticed the mentees at our program had this amazing and passionate hatred of police officers, I remember they would yell names at them on our drives to campus, and showed very little respect. For one of our Friday mentor sessions, we invited the Burlington Community outreach officer to speak to the group. The kids ended up loving it once the police officer told them about her job and how she was there to help them, not hurt them. One girl in particular at the end of the presentation told her mentor she wanted to be a police officer and got to spend a little one on one time with the officer. That was the first time I really felt DREAM was doing something truly beneficial for the kids and really showing them a different perspective on their world. My other favorite memory is the scavenger hunt we did with our mentees one Friday in Burlington. The kids had a bunch of tasks and things to find. It was the most fun I had with Wayne (my mentee) running around the city playing silly games. I still have a picture of us from that day on my shelf at work, and it was the first time I felt like I had a made a truly deep connection with my mentee. 8. Where do you envision DREAM will be next year? In five years? In ten years? Long-term, I see DREAM with a regional-type presence (major cities in the northeast). Very long-term, I’d love to see DREAM go national. My focus is really to improve the Alumni network, and that’s what I am striving to do. Better communication, accessible information, and a clear mission that is portrayed to the Alumni ultimately will help DREAM grow. An excited Alumni base can get so much done! I really and always wish that DREAM doesn’t lose the passion it has from the people involved in it. Since the majority of the volunteer base is made up of college mentors, the level of adventure and excitement is incredible. That is
Call for Volunteers for Camp DREAM By Ashleigh Ellsworth-Keller, Camp DREAM Director Call for Volunteers for Camp DREAM! You may have read in the last issue about the need for volunteer counselors to staff Camp DREAM this summer. We are looking for counselors like YOU, or your best friend, or your mom, your brother, and any other adults you know who love kids and being outdoors! Spend a week in the woods of VT making a difference in the lives of DREAMers. Here is a reminder of the dates: 1. Southern VT Boys: Monday, July 2 – Friday, July 6 2. Southern VT Girls: Monday, July 9 – Friday, July 13 3. Northern VT Boys: Monday, July 23 – Friday, July 27 4. Northern VT Girls: Monday, July 30 – Friday, August 3 For full position description, visit the DREAM website at www.dreamprogram.org. If you are interested in applying or for more information, email Ashleigh@dreamprogram.org or (802) 338-8979. See you at camp this summer!
While there’s less ice to deal with in the summer, Camp still needs your help!
Meet the DREAM Board of Directors By Paul Espina, Dartmouth College ‘07 1. Who am I? Name - Paul Espina Age – 27 Hometown - Bay Shore, NY Current Residence - Burlington, VT Alma Mater - Dartmouth ‘07 DREAM Local Program - Armory Square/Windsor Favorite Disney Character -I have two, a hero and a villain. Scar because he has the best theme song ever and Aladdin because of his diamond in the rough aspects. 2. Besides sitting on the DREAM Board, what is your primary occupation? I am currently a teacher at CenterPoint School – an alternative education high school. It’s an amazing organization with a great staff, stellar students and awesome programming. Instruction is mostly one on one and strength-based. So far this year I’ve built a trebuchet, supported students in job skills internships and taught life skills including bank account management and how to bake and cook. Check out the website at http://www.centerpointservices.org/ and if you want to learn more, please don’t hesitate to contact me. 3. How long have you been on the DREAM Board? What was the path that led to you joining the Board? I’ve been a board member for about a month and a half. I first heard about the board as a senior in college and thought that it’d be a great way to remain involved after I was no longer a mentor. After a couple years of teaching and then working in the DREAM central office as an AmeriCorps member, I realized that my experiences would be a great asset. So I applied, and here I am. On that note I’d like to put a plug out there to all of you – the Board is expanding in Vermont and Boston, and many of you would be great candidates. 4. In your own words, what exactly does the Board do on a day-to-day basis? What is your role? DREAM has always been a bottoms-up organization, and the Board is no different. All the day-to-day decisions are still made by mentors and mentees. The Board acts as a safety net to make sure DREAM can continue to do the great work it currently does. We monitor the health of the organization, oversee the final budget, talk about organization-wide policy, and lately we’ve been looking at how DREAM can expand and continue to improve over the next 4 to 5 years. 5. What is your proudest DREAM moment? Dartmouth’s 2006 High Adventure trip to California was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The entire trip was incredible, but I’m most proud of the ownership the Windsor and NWHD teens took over the program. This was particularly clear after our major crisis when Mikeyy Tobin saved High Adventure. It’s a long story so if you’d like to hear it, give me a call or email and maybe we can meet up for coffee. 6. What do you hope to achieve or contribute during your time on the Board? I believe that DREAM is the best mentoring organization in the United States, and I hope to help DREAM continue to improve and sustainably expand while I am a member of the Board. We have big plans ahead and I can’t wait to see DREAM’s growth over the next five years. 7. Where do you envision DREAM will be next year? In five years? In ten years? DREAM will continue to be what it is at it’s core – a mentoring program that matches college students with children from affordable housing communities. DREAM will gain national recognition in mentoring and we’ll begin to spread throughout the northeast. Perhaps in ten or twenty years we’ll have a Senator or Congress member wearing a DREAM shirt under their suit in the capitol.
The Original DREAMers of Templeton – Where are they now? By Sandy Mervak, Development Director Templeton Court was the first affordable housing neighborhood that DREAM ever worked with. We were connected with Templeton through Kathryn Ross, an AmeriCorps VISTA member charged with creating an afterschool program for some of the youth living in Templeton. Located in White River Junction, Vt., Templeton Court (now broken up into Northwoods & Hollow Dr.) was a short drive away from Dartmouth College. The DREAM program there began with about 10 mentees, but grew and grew into the much larger program it is today. So, where are some of those 10 mentees now? • Wayne Miller just began his first year of college at Vermont Community College. • Chris Hicks was recently married, and now lives with his wife Brittany and works in New Hampshire. • Aaron Wilson lives in Central Vermont, and is in his senior year at the Lyndon Institute. • Barbara Dionne lives and works in White River Junction. She recently got engaged. • Cary "Chewy" Dionne graduated from Hartford High School in 2011. He is now attending Paul Smith's
College. • Mikeyy Tobin is the last remaining DREAM mentee from the group at Templeton. He remains an enthusiastic part of DREAM, and is in his junior year at Hartford High, with hopes to attend college next year. We are so proud of the accomplishments of this amazing group of young people. We hope to send you updates of more of them in the future.
Nonprofit Job Bulletin As announced in last month’s edition of The Blue Wagon, DREAM is still looking for an outstanding individual to become our first ever Boston Regional Director. The Boston-based Regional Director will take the lead in driving DREAM’s mission in the Greater Boston Area, including growing our reach and deepening our impact. For more information please see the full job description at http://dreamprogram.org/resources/BostonRD_11-12_final.pdf If you have questions or are ready to submit a resume and letter of interest, please send to recruit@dreamprogram.org. Additionally, Commongood Careers has dozens of new job postings this month for positions in Boston, New York, San Francisco, D.C., and even Seattle! Commongood Careers is a mission-driven search firm that supports the hiring needs of the nation’s most innovative and high-performing nonprofit organizations. A sampling of the current openings is below. • • • • •
Executive Director, Brookline Teen Center, Brookline, MA Operations Manager, Credit Builders Alliance, Washington, DC Chief Operating Officer, BALLE, San Francisco, CA or Seattle, WA Program Officer, Klarman Family Foundation, Boston, MA Manager of Strategic Planning and Partnerships, Youth Villages, Woburn, MA