The Blue Wagon

Alumni Newsletter – June 2011

Inside this issue Amuse Bouche & Announcements 2

Accolades of the DREAM 2011 Graduates 3

‘Tis the Season for Camp DREAM 4

This is Not a Fundraising Appeal 5

The Reason We Race 6

Day #1 Led to Being Sisters 7 - 8

DREAM Doppel-Doppelgängers 9 - 10

Now that we're almost halfway through the Alumni Council year, I want to share how we're transforming our ideas into actions, and our vision into reality for 2011 - 2012. I encourage each of you to share any thoughts you have on additional improvements we can make. The more input you give, the better we can address your needs and concerns. The Initiative Heads have been brainstorming and, with the rock solid support of the Office, implementing ways we can enhance your experience as DREAM Alumni. Here's a snapshot of what we've been up to:

• Added a Welcome Letter and Pamphlet about the Alumni Organization to the graduation packet (t-shirt, photo, card) that seniors receive each year. These materials will soon be available on the website for everyone to see.

• Incorporating more Alumni-driven content into The Blue Wagon, for which we’ll continue to need your help. • Planning the Alumni Appeal earlier with more Alumni volunteers on the committee. • Establishing a procedure for not only allocating funds raised in the Alumni Appeal, but also broadcasting where that

money is going. • Opening up lines of communication with Local Programs. • Developing and publishing a schedule of Alumni events and Local Program events across the country so you don't

miss any opportunities to meet up with fellow DREAMers. • Utilizing Alumni with relevant areas of expertise to benefit the Local Programs. • Starting a program to recognize and commemorate Alumni (stay tuned for more details!)

In other exciting news, the Alumni Council will be joining the DREAM Board on its annual retreat at Camp this summer. At the "Governing Bodies" retreat, we'll be discussing the long-term strategic vision for DREAM and how both groups can work more closely and effectively together in the future. Keep an eye out for my recap of the retreat in the August issue of The Blue Wagon! Summer DREAMin', AJ LeGaye President, 2010 - 2012 DREAM Alumni Council a.legaye@gmail.com

AMUSE BOUCHE By AJ LeGaye, Alumni Council President

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

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1. Introducing the newest addition to our DREAM apparel line: The DREAM Adventure T-Shirt! This 100% moisture-wicking, 4.0oz polyester top will keep you up to 95% drier than a standard cotton DREAM tee. Whether you’re running a marathon, kite boarding on a windy day, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, or simply squeezing in a cardio session at the gym, you can now do so while proudly representing with your new DREAM Adventure T-Shirt! 100% of the proceeds will help fund incredible summer adventures at Camp DREAM and throughout the Greater Boston Area. DREAM has sold sponsorship space on the back of the shirts to seven regional companies and has already raised nearly $5,000. Supplies are limited so act fast! Order yours online at: http://www.dreamprogram.org/store/index.htm

2. Claudine Nkurinziza, a Teen DREAMer from Elm Street, was recently honored as a Student of the Quarter at Winooski High School. Claudine is an amazing young woman who has been an outstanding child, teen, camper and leader in DREAM. She has been with DREAM since 2006 when her family moved to Winooski from Africa. Please join us in congratulating her on this wonderful achievement. If you would like to pass on a few words of congratulations, please email Jenna Rae in the DREAM office (jhelenski@dreamprogram.org) and she will put them all together in a card for Claudine.

3. The DREAM Program Empowerment Directors recently wrapped up a tremendous training retreat at Camp DREAM with our 10 Summer Community Interns. The Interns are charged with creating an exciting summer of recreation, enrichment and exploration in each of DREAM's communities and the excitement coming out of the retreat has got us pumped up for the summer. Activities take place at least twice a week and up to five days a week in each community. If you are interested in volunteering, participating or donating to programming this summer, please contact Mike Ewan at mewan@dreamprogram.org, or call the DREAM Office at 802.338.8979.

Let’s face it: those graduating seniors look sharp in their ALUMNI t-shirts. Yet the merits of our DREAM class of 2011 run much deeper than mere good looks and winning smiles. We’ve dug up the gold on a number of our graduating seniors, and compiled a list of just a few of the achievements of this outstanding group.

• Ariela Anhalt, Dartmouth ’11, was awarded the David Birney Award for Excellence in the Theater Arts, the Ruth and Loring Dodd Drama Prize, and the William C. Spengemann Award in Writing.

• Ilda Bajraktari, Dartmouth ’11, won the Florence Fletcher Charles Botany Prize.

• Jayla Brink, Spaulding High School ’11, was accepted to North Greenville University. • Anna Campbell, St. Michael’s ’11, was inducted into Delta Epsilon Sigma, a national scholastic honors

society. • Sarah Frostenson, Dartmouth ’11, took home the Steven S. Rosenthal ’71 Prize, in addition to receiving a

Fulbright Scholarship to study in South Africa next year. • Stephanie Halgren, Middlebury ’11, was awarded class Salutatorian. • Devin Kulick, Hartford High School ‘11, was accepted to Lyndon State College. • Kristin Kunkel, St. Michael’s ’11, was inducted into Tri Beta, a national biological honors society. • Tim Liu, Middlebury ’11, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in China next year. • Wingyin Lo, UVM ’11, graduated from the Honors College, and also received departmental honors from

the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences. • Megan Lumnah, Green Mountain College ’11, received the Youth Development & Camp Management

Senior Award. • Phi Beta Kappa inductees include UVM graduate Daniel Hedges, as well as Dartmouth graduates Ariela

Anhalt, Andrew Joseph, Elizabeth Palmer, and Edie Stuart. • Laura Williams, Middlebury ’11, was recognized with a Commitment to Service and Engagement Award

from Vermont Campus Compact. It is an honor to have such a bright, engaged group amongst us. And this list is by no means exhaustive; with well over 100 graduates this year from schools across Vermont and Greater Boston, it would be difficult to record all of the awards and achievements of the DREAM Class of 2011. Once again, we have proof that DREAM Alumni truly understand what DREAMing big is all about. Don’t see your name on this list? Feel that you would like to be recognized for your achievements? Shoot us an email at alumni@dreamprogram.org.

Accolades of the DREAM 2011 Graduates And They Have Great Personalities, Too!

By Sandy Mervak, Development Director

Every year there comes a time when we switch the sheets on our beds from flannel to cotton. We open the windows and remove storm latches. The air becomes sweet, filled with the aroma of spring berries and flowers. There is sign of new life outside and the whole world is growing again. As the weather improves, we find we need our jackets less and less. We dig deep into our closets to find the clothes we haven’t seen since the end of last year, the ones we tucked away at the first sight of snow, those we might have forgotten about out of need for heavier layers to keep us warm during the winter. This is the time I look in my drawer and reach for my DREAM CAMP tee shirt. Splattered with remnants of mud, paint and campfire smudge, I am filled with the many memories of that little spot tucked away in the woods, that secret place only DREAMers understand so specifically. As a Program Director several summers ago at DREAM CAMP, I have fond memories of learning from mentors and mentees in an environment of creative silliness. I searched for frogs in mud ponds, bobbed for apples in buckets twice my size, lost Frisbees in the woods after tireless games of nighttime Frisbee Golf, and had whipped cream pies flung in my face by my most adoring fans! I used power tools for the first time at CAMP. I carried plywood through self-made trails, built a bridge over a stream, walked through the woods completely alone without a flashlight, helped build a wood fire oven, picked fresh eggs from a chicken coop, used rocks to create pathways where mud had overtaken trails, and learned to build a camp fire. These triumphs of courage and new horizons could have only happened in a place where I was surrounded by my best friends and family. Looking at my CAMP T-shirt, I become excited with the prospect of heading to Fletcher for a summer of new fun. I can smell the fresh, northern Vermont air and taste the incredible campfire cooking. I can picture the night sky so scattered with stars there’s hardly any black on its pallet. I can imagine the new friends I will make and all the old ones I will see again. This is the time when I grab my sleeping bag and tent, throw on my bug spray and sunscreen, slip into that bright yellow t-shirt and proclaim, “We have so much, so much, so much, so much, so much -- so much, so much, so much, so much, so much -- so much, so much, so much -- to be thankful for – we have CAMP DREAM to be thankful for!” (Don’t forget to pit stop at the porta-potty before you head off to Main CAMP). DREAM on! Frieda Arenos, UVM ‘08 Alumni Appeal Leader DREAM Alumni Council flarenos@gmail.com

Frieda reveling after a scrumptious Camp DREAM dessert.

‘Tis the Season for Camp DREAM By Frieda Arenos, Alumni Appeal Leader

This Is Not a Fundraising Appeal. By Sandy Mervak Each year in May and June, while the DREAM Offices in Boston and Vermont become like anthills in time-lapse photography preparing for summer programming and Camp, the development staff devote their time to helping finance the amazing summer experiences for the children and mentors in DREAM. Our goal for 2011 is to raise sufficient funds to send 35 kids to Camp, and to provide outstanding summer programming opportunities for up to 90 children and youth in Greater Boston. Thanks to the generous contributions of 32 donors, we have been able to raise over $23,000 toward our $25,000 overall goal – and the Summer Appeal has only just begun. You may be asking, how do DREAM Alumni fit into the summer picture? The answer is you decide! Whether you want to drop by Madison Park for a session of Duck, Duck, Splash or help the Forest Park DREAMers pick blueberries, we would love to have you join us. If you are excited about supporting Camp or Boston programming financially, we would also welcome your contribution. In fact, we caught up with Katie McDreamer, a Dartmouth ’05, and Frieda Arenos, a UVM ’08, on candid camera at Camp a few weeks ago, talking about just that. Hear what they had to say! Watch the 2-minute Video @ http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/12055013/dream-summer-non-appeal

About a year ago, I sat down at a picnic table at Big Fatty’s BBQ in Burlington, VT, surrounded by DREAM Alumni and friends. We had just left Camp DREAM after an action packed Alumni Weekend and we were ready for some greasy grub. One by one, our meals were delivered. Hotdogs, catfish sandwiches, Texas brisket plates, and baskets of fries soon covered the table, but my meal was nowhere in sight. “What is an extra couple of minutes,” I thought, “I’ve been training for this day for years!” I was getting ready to embark on an hour-long eating odyssey called, “The Big Fatty and Fries.” After 23 years of fast-food dinners, milkshakes, and Oreo cookies I was ready. Consumed by excitement, nerves, and the bewilderment of what four pounds of pulled pork, a bun, and French fries would actually look like, I sat and waited. After what seemed like hours, the chef emerged from the kitchen with two cafeteria-sized trays piled high with food. As he placed it on the table he said, “You’ve got one hour to finish this, and the clock starts…” From there we fast forward twelve months, to-the-day, where I found myself again in Burlington, once again surrounded by DREAM Alumni and friends. This time we were huddled together in Battery Park, fighting to stay dry as the rain fell and thunder and lightning slowly approached. The start of the Key Bank Vermont City Marathon was only a half-hour away and this time, the excitement, nervousness, and emotions were shared by thousands! For the previous eleven months, pulled pork, French fries, fast food dinners, Oreo cookies, and milk shakes had been off the menu, replaced with things like yogurt, fresh veggies, chia seeds, and fruit. I had also taken up a new hobby – running. Having already finished two marathons in the spring, with a personal best time of 3:51:33, I was ready for my third, but today’s race was going to be different. This time, I was going to be running alongside ten DREAMers and fans of the organization, all members of DREAM’s two Marathon Relay Teams! Sandy Mervak (UVM ’09) and Joe Ainsworth (UVM ’11) represented the DREAM Alumni. Michael Loner, Ashleigh Ellsworth-Keller, and Andrew Lassiter represented the Central Office. Neal Warren, Neil Groberg, and Josh Steirman represented DREAM’s Board of Directors, and rounding out the relay teams were friends and fans of the organization, David Kupfer and Liz Gleason. As we waited for the race to start, I thought about the stark contrast between an eating challenge and a marathon,

and the eleven months of training and lifestyle changes that had brought me to Battery Park that morning. In the final moments before the start of the marathon, we exchanged high-fives and well wishes, and I reflected on a passage from Christopher McDougal’s Born To Run: “The reason we race isn’t so much to beat each other, but to be with each other.” Surrounded by Alumni and friends I approached the starting line. 4 hours, 7 minutes and 23 seconds later I crossed the finish line, just minutes behind Mike Loner and DREAM’s second relay team.

The Reason We Race By Josh Warren

DREAM’s Vermont City Marathon Relay Teams. Like the Wind (3:54:30) and DREAM (4:06:18). Not pictured: Neil Groberg, David Kupfer, Josh Steirman, and Liz Gleason.

I have been blessed with a unique relationship with DREAM that not all alumni have experienced. I entered DREAM as a Summer Community Intern and began my relationship with the kids at Franklin Square in Burlington without having ever experienced a DREAM Friday. Day #1 was almost exactly two years ago to this day. Upon the completion of the summer, many of the mentees asked if I could take their graduated mentor’s place. I quickly refused and stuck to that. I believe this was one of the better decisions I made that summer. The following school year, I did not sign on to work with one particular child, but instead approached the year with the intention of simply becoming part of the community, a community that I would eventually call home. Day #1 of that summer was tragic. A 5-year-old pulled out a paring knife on her sister because she was being told she could not play duck-duck-goose with the big kids. Another child fell out of the tree by the playground, with miraculously no injuries. And to top it off, another group ran off into the scorching heat on what Dustin Hunter and I hoped would be a “Nature Walk.” It quickly turned into them straying off into the woods in different directions, and the adults leaving them out there to come back on their own. Despite what some may rightfully call Franklin Square craziness, I grew to call it home. Given the strength of the relationships I have been able to make with the families and children in the community, the 60-unit, one-way circle that makes up Franklin Square will now always feel like a second home. After my summer internship, I made myself a resource to the school year mentors and became what Saint Mike’s likes to call a “floating mentor”. No, I don’t have inhumane powers to rise above the children, but instead, I was the lucky one to work with whoever’s mentor was not going to make DREAM on a given Friday. This forced me to think on my feet and every week, amidst the singing and dancing that comes with putting 12 kids in a van, spontaneously decide what to do with the child I was chosen to work with that day. Every Friday, somehow, turned into teachable moments and spontaneous fun. And after a while, I realized I also had a great desire to do things

outside of regular DREAM Fridays, as many of the kids' ideas needed extra planning that couldn't happen during a Friday afternoon.

Day #1 Led to Being Sisters By Meghan Kerrigan, Knowledge Initiative Area Head, St. Michael’s ‘10

Montage of Meghan’s incredible adventures with the DREAM kids and fellow mentors over the summer of 2009.

With this freedom to still be involved despite not being a summer intern or school year mentor, all doors were open. I started meeting with some girls for a quasi “Girls Group” (i.e. talking and giving henna to each other!). I ran “Sports Days” in the summer for the teens to rival the Riverside DREAMers in soccer or basketball once a week. We organized a music/yoga class that a DREAM alum taught for some of the younger kids. We threw down blankets on weekend mornings and read some lovely children’s literature. We regularly shared food with the families and most recently, upon moving to the New North End of Burlington, we’d offer DREAM kiddos a ride back to the square from school or to school due to their frequent inability to catch the city bus! In every case, I have loved more than anything the spontaneous moments when a DREAMer is involved. My favorite was when they called to ask if I could drive them to their middle school dance, without telling me there were 12 of them wanting to go (and just assuming that the 12-passenger van was actually my personal car). Or the moments when others in the community call to tell me they have an abundance of food leftover from an event, and I thankfully accept and see what kid walking the square on that given day wants a bagel or apple. Without a doubt, the food is gone within 5 minutes. As I think and reflect on many of these moments over the past two years, I often worry myself with the boundaries of my work. Is there a limit to our involvement and their reliance on us as mentors? Similarly, do the children and families share the same awareness and perspective on what DREAM does in their community? I spoke with another mentor about this in great depth as both our jobs involved us in the Burlington DREAM communities for another summer. He and I debated if the kids actually “get it”. If they understand all we do, all the wonderful adventures and experiences they’ve had the privilege to engage in, or if they’re just abusing the “system” and reaping the benefits? I stopped us mid-conversation though to emphasize THEY GET IT and to share one of the many reasons why. The story I shared was one of the most memorable magical moments during my time in DREAM. It speaks to the impact and role we do have in one another’s lives, and also to the appreciation each family has for DREAM. And the story is this:

I arrived in the community early enough to know the children would all still be sleeping. Maybe a few Moms would be leaving to walk to the garden for the day, but I could handle posting up flyers and chatting with them at the early hour. About halfway done with my flyers, one mother of five DREAM children pulled me to come sit on the pavement outside their home and sort black beans from kidney beans with her. I was torn between embracing this peaceful moment and the need to finish the remainder of my flyers. In the many interactions I’d had with her previously, I knew she only understood basic English, and might need some rephrasing if I was going to engage in a full conversation with her at length. This day though, there was no rephrasing needed. She grabbed my hand, began adorning it with freshly made henna, and forwardly said, “Meghan, please know you are my daughter, and her daughter (as she pointed to her neighbor’s house), and his daughter (as she pointed to her husband), and my little girl’s sister, and my big boy’s sister, and all of our’s sister. You don’t have to do all you do for us. Thank you. You can come home always even if you leave us for some reason. All DREAM people are our family.”

With that being said, I share my personal relationship with the kids and DREAM as a whole carefully because I struggle with someone taking my experiences the wrong way. I simply hope to motivate ALL of us to stay involved, stay in touch, and simply be present for the children as our presence has the ability to shape them and impact them in more ways than each of us will ever know. I hope each of us has had or will have the chance to have a “moment” as I did. But more importantly, I hope we each understand that from the most grandiose to the simplest gestures we implement with our fabulous DREAM ideas, we can find comfort in knowing they are entirely worth taking the risk. We may never know what it might do for another.

“Day #1 Led to Being Sisters” Cont’d

Eli Whiteside, SF Giants’ Catcher

Brian Bensch Dartmouth ‘09