Dear "I Have A Dream" Family,

Thank you for your support in 2018! We’ve had a busy year and our Dreamer Scholars have been working hard in the direction of their dreams. As we look forward to the new year, we want to share our most recent Annual Report with you and reflect on some highlights from 2018 that wouldn't have been possible without your ongoing support.
  • We reached 600 students in 12 program sites and 100 more who were enrolled in a variety of post-secondary educational institutions.
  • More than 700 amazing volunteers shared their time and talents with us this year.
  • 93% of the Iris Dreamer Scholar Class is now graduated from high school as of this year! And 85% of them are enrolled in a post-secondary program!
Many new friends found “I Have A Dream” through our signature events. More than 1,400 people attended our Dream-Maker Breakfast, Golf Tournament, and Dream-Maker Luncheon! Special thanks to Ascent Church for hosting our Dream-Maker Luncheon again this year!
Speaking of events, our newly formed Emerging Leaders Board (ELB) hosted a FUN event this past spring with a Cork Pull. The ELB supports our efforts to close the opportunity gap that exists in Boulder County and serve more children. We’re so grateful for their commitment to our Dreamer Scholars!
Two new classes of Dreamer Scholars were dedicated in the second half of 2018, one in Lafayette at Alicia Sanchez International Elementary School and one in Boulder at the Diagonal Community Center, a Boulder Housing Partners low-income housing site. Congratulations to our newest Dreamer Scholars and their families on starting their “I Have A Dream” journeys! We can't wait to see what the future holds for each and every one of you!
Partnering with Dreamer Scholar parents and families is extremely important to us. We surveyed our families as we do every year and held parent meetings to gather feedback and hear suggestions on how we can improve our program. In the words of two of our parents:

" I Have A Dream" has helped my wife and I with the education of our 12-year-old daughter with the best educational support you can find in Boulder County"

"Since participating in 'I Have A Dream,' my son has seen a therapist, has had dancing classes, piano classes, help with math, and has overall improved academically."
And speaking of honors, the City of Boulder's Health Equity Fund renewed its partnership with "I Have A Dream," awarding us an amazing grant to support health and wellness programming into 2019 along with our partners, City of Boulder Parks and Recreation and Boulder Housing Partners. The grant supports even more children in our community, impacting their health and wellness through the Dream Big partnership of which “I Have A Dream” is a leading partner.
As we continue to grow and serve even more children in our community, our infrastructure needs grow with us. This year, we dedicated our building on Manhattan Circle in honor of Irene Lopez Wessell and renovated the lower level, making room for a new training center for our Volunteer Department and College and Career programming space.
Part of our work includes ensuring that our Dreamer Scholars are well-equipped to thrive in college and their careers. In 2018, our longstanding Building the Dream Summer Internship program featured our first-ever internship recruitment event , bringing together over 100 guests from businesses across Boulder County, and our largest program to date. (Mark your calendar for the 2019 recruitment event at Google's Boulder headquarters on Friday, February 15, 2019!) Special thanks to the Boulder Chamber of Commerce for co-chairing the event, and to the City of Boulder and CU Boulder, who hosted nearly 60 interns between them.
Most of all in this season of reflection, I want to celebrate you, our supporters. This work doesn’t happen without each and every one of you, and I offer you my personal thanks. Here’s to a dream-filled 2019!
In gratitude,
Lori Canova, President & CEO