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Join Us on February 9th!
Registration is open for the
Building The Dream Internship Event! On February 9, the
Dream Big Initiative and the "I Have A Dream" Foundation of Boulder County with underwriting support from Foothills United Way, will host a complimentary breakfast at the NEW Embassy Suites in Boulder for organizations interested in learning more about hosting summer interns.
For more than 20 years, the "I Have A Dream" Foundation of Boulder County has placed eligible high school students in paid summer internships with organizations like University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder County District Attorney's Office, Boulder Housing Partners, and Intrado (now West Communications). Attendees will hear from internship hosts, including District Attorney Stan Garnett, and former interns about the importance of this experience for building Boulder County's future talent pipeline. Host organizations benefit from the creativity and energy of local youth, and low-income students gain exposure to potential career pathways and build their local professional networks while earning money over their summer break. Attendees are encouraged to bring other organizations interested in learning more about this great opportunity.
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"I Have A Dream" Celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
On January 15, our Dreamer Scholars and staff celebrated our namesake by rallying, marching, and participating in various community service projects in Lafayette and Denver. "I Have A Dream" was also the beneficiary of the inaugural Martin Luther King Day Talent Showcase hosted by KGNU. Check out a description on the activities below. For more pictures,
check out our Facebook album!
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The Iris, Phoenix, Rocky Mountain, Aspen and Oak Dreamer Scholars braved the snow and cold and traveled to Denver to attend the 32nd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Marade. Dreamer Scholars and their program staff proudly displayed "I Have A Dream" banners and homemade signs as they marched from City Park to Civic Center Park. |
The Alicia Sanchez Elementary La Vista Dreamer Scholars and program staff enjoyed the City of Lafayette's 13th Annual MLK festivities held at Angevine Middle School. Unfortunately, the march itself was canceled due to the weather, but the community still gathered for food and performances in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy. The Lafayette Youth Advisory Committee with support from the Empowerment Center of East County, the Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and the local business community, put together a wonderful show featuring performances by The Reminders, local choirs, local poets, and more! |
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The Lafayette Griffin Dreamer Scholars spent the day learning and reflecting on Martin Luther King, Jr. Their Program Director taught a lesson on the Civil Rights Movement and the Dreamer Scholars prepared hygiene kits for people in our community experiencing homelessness - they created over 50 kits! The students also watched the movie "Selma" and had a thoughtful discussion. |
| Kenneth Martin Flow and KGNU Radio held the Inaugural Martin Luther King Day Talent Showcase at the Avalon Ballroom to benefit "I Have A Dream" Foundation of Boulder County and celebrate the community. It was a night full of dancing, singing, musical acts and fun! |
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Dreamer Scholar Alumna Returns to "I Have A Dream" to Serve as an AmeriCorps Member!
We're excited to welcome back Sonia Rivera as an AmeriCorps member! Sonia graduated from high school in 2012 as part of the Sanchez Dreamer Scholar class in Lafayette. She attended Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she studied psychology.
Now, as a college graduate, she's decided to give back to the "I Have A Dream" community by serving as an AmeriCorps member with the La Vista class at Alicia Sanchez Elementary in Lafayette. Sonia explains that as a Dreamer Scholar her life was "touched and altered by the kindness and giving spirit of many AmeriCorps, and I wanted to continue the cycle of community and service by becoming one myself."
Sonia started her service with the La Vista class this month and is already loving it. She's enjoyed the reactions of Dreamer Scholars when she tells them that she herself was a Dreamer Scholar at Sanchez Elementary years ago, and that now she's a college graduate and an AmeriCorps member. She says, "They think it's the coolest thing ever!"
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Don't Miss Our 10th Annual Dream-Maker Breakfast!
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This annual event brings together more than 300 community members, elected officials, and business leaders who gather to help students in our community succeed. Join us for an inspirational program with testimonials from Dreamer Scholars, program partners, parents, and volunteers.
When: Thursday, March 15th - 7:30 - 9 a.m.
Where: Plaza Convention Center (
1850 Industrial Circle, Longmont, CO)
For more information, c
ontact Jessica Sharley
or 303-444-3636 x 27
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National Mentor Month - Mentor Spotlight: Nancy Egbert
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January is National Mentor Month and we are celebrating the 170 adults who serve our Dreamer Scholars as mentors.
Nancy Egbert is one of those valuable mentors who is investing her time in supporting Delaney, a 5th grade Dreamer Scholar with the Oak Class in Boulder.
Nancy and her mentee have enjoyed activities such as reading at the library, attending a Dia de los Muertos event, and walking Nancy's dog. One of her favorite memories is going to Cottonwood Farm to pick out a pumpkin and carving it together. It was Delaney's first time carving a pumpkin; and Nancy discovered that observing Delaney's "delight and enthusiasm in experiencing something for the first time was fun and gratifying."
Have you been thinking about becoming a mentor? According to Nancy, mentoring may be the best decision you make! She says, "The Dreamer Scholars are so delightful; and they truly want mentors. You will have so much fun doing things together; and you will enjoy getting to know their families."
Thank you, Nancy, for giving your time to volunteer with us as a mentor! We appreciate each and every one of our mentors who give their passion, time, and energy to support Dreamer Scholars!
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Google Hosts Girls-Only Coding Party!
On January 17, a group of Griffin, Iris, and Phoenix Dreamer Scholars participated in a Made with Code event at the new Google Boulder Campus. Made with Code is a Google initiative aimed at empowering young women in middle and high school with computer programming skills. The Dreamer Scholars received a special after-hours, girls-only tour of the Google campus and talked with several female Google engineers. The women shared their experiences in the tech world and their journey to their career at Google. They also helped the Dreamer Scholars learn some basic coding skills and played around with Made with Code online programs. It was a fun night for our program staff, Dreamer Scholars, and Google employees!
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Meet Our New Staff Members
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Lory Barton,
Director of Development
Lory grew up Independence, Missouri and attended University of Missouri-Columbia, majoring in Educational and Counseling Psychology and minoring in French. She also earned an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. She moved to Longmont in 1995 and considers herself a grafted-in native! When her two young daughters started school, she joined the staff of a large church in Boulder County, leading an organization of 1400 people within the church. Her family adopted a baby girl from Ethiopia in 2008, and a young son from Ethiopia in 2009. Her experience in Ethiopia led her to found a non-profit organization that worked in rural Ethiopia in 2010. That organization empowered widows and served orphans by providing job training for the widows and education, healthcare, family support, and sponsors for the orphans. She spent the last three years as Director of Development at Meals on Wheels of Boulder. These days, she is quasi-newly married to the world's best husband, mom to her four and second mom to his three (yes, that is a total of seven kids!). She's super-excited to join the team at "I Have A Dream" and can't wait to see what the future holds.
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Jessica Sharley, Development Manager
Jessica Sharley comes to "I Have A Dream" with a passion for education and for sharing that passion with members of our community. With a recent background of comprehensive fundraising in the nonprofit health care sector, she is thrilled to be returning to the world of education, which she had previously experienced from the front of the classroom. Prior to pivoting into nonprofit fund development, she taught English and theatre at the high school and undergraduate levels, seeing first-hand that it takes more than sturdy bootstraps to close the achievement gap. She has been the grateful beneficiary of wonderful mentors herself as well as honored to serve as a Big Sister with BB/BS of Dane County in Madison, Wisconsin.
Jessica holds a PhD in Theatre from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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We Hope to See You in 2018!
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Embassy Suites, Boulder
Plaza Convention Center, Longmont
Omni Interlocken Golf Club
Ascent Community Church, Louisville
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Upcoming Events
February 9th
7:30 am - 9 am
Embassy Suites
Boulder
*Click to RSVP
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February 28th
3:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Aspen Class
Timberline PK-8
Longmont
*Click to RSVP
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March 15th
7:30 am - 9 am
Plaza Convention Center
Longmont
*Click to RSVP
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2018 Corporate Dream-Makers
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About the "I Have A Dream" Foundation of Boulder County
Since 1990, the award-winning "I Have A Dream" Foundation of Boulder County has assisted 1,000 children from low-income areas in achieving their education and career goals by providing long-term personal and academic support, tutoring, mentoring and four-year tuition-assistance scholarships to each graduating student. The organization sponsors entire groups of students from elementary schools or from low-income housing sites and works with these children and their families from elementary school through high school graduation and then "to and through" college. Currently, there are 10 active "I Have A Dream" classes in the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley School Districts. The "I Have A Dream" Foundation of Boulder County has doubled expected graduation rates for its graduating classes of students and has awarded over $2 million in scholarships. The program follows the national model established in New York in 1981 by founder Eugene Lang.
"I Have A Dream" Foundation of Boulder County |
5390 Manhattan Circle #200 | Boulder, Colorado 80303
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