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How did the “I Have A Dream”® Foundation begin?
The “I Have A Dream”® Foundation
had its origin in 1981,when New York businessman Eugene Lang
returned to make a speech at the elementary school he attended 50 years earlier.
When he was told that 75% of students at P.S. 121 in East Harlem
would probably not graduate from high school, he made an extraordinary
offer: he assured the 61 sixth grade students that funds would
be available for college tuition or vocational school.
“ I Have A Dream”® Foundation-Oregon began its first class in 1990. Currently,
it serves over 800 Dreamers in nine classes (six in Portland and three in Forest Grove/Cornelius).
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How does a student become a Dreamer?
Unlike other programs, “I Have A Dream”® does
not select individual students to participate in the program. Instead
we adopt a whole grade level from an elementary school, usually
the entire third or fourth grade. Thus, “I Have A Dream”® serves
a broad range of students from the highest achieving to the most
challenged.
“I Have A Dream”® identifies
and selects a school that would benefit most from its services.
This has meant partnering
with schools located in neighborhoods of predominately lower income
families.
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How much scholarship assistance does a Dreamer receive?
After graduation from high school, the Dreamers in the first five
classes are eligible for a scholarship of $1000 a year for four
years. The Dreamers in the next four classes have been promised
$2000 a year for four years. Current Dreamers have used the assistance
to attend community colleges, four-year universities and vocational/trade
schools.
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What does the "I Have a Dream"® Program do?
"I Have a Dream"® is a long-term educational support program
for children from low-income communities. Local "I Have a
Dream"® Projects adopt entire grades from elementary schools
or entire age groups from public housing developments. Each Project
provides its children ("Dreamers") with academic support,
cultural and recreational activities, and individual attention
for 12 to 16 years. It is the goal of "I Have a Dream" ® to
see that every Dreamer graduates from high school and has the option
to attend college and/or obtain rewarding employment. Once Dreamers
graduate from high school, "I Have a Dream" ® provides
tuition assistance to assure that they will have the opportunity
to attend a college, university, or accredited vocational school.
There are now over 180 "I Have a Dream" ® Projects
in 64 cities and 27 states, serving well over 13,500 Dreamers.
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How does a Project begin?
A Project begins when one or more people care enough to make a
substantial long-term personal and financial commitment. The
people who make the commitment and provide or secure funding
are "I Have a Dream"® Sponsors.
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Who can be a Sponsor?
A Project can be sponsored by an individual or group of individuals.
They may be family members, business colleagues, members of religious
or civic groups, educators - anyone who can both build personal
relationships with Dreamers and secure Project funding. In some
cases, Sponsors provide funding themselves. In other cases, they
obtain funding from foundations, government agencies, church
groups, colleges, corporations and other sources. But funding
is only part of the promise. The Sponsor makes a personal commitment
to the Dreamers for the duration of the Project: he or she will
get to know them one-on-one, and take a genuine interest in their
lives and their futures. The Sponsor also hires a Project Coordinator
to work with the Dreamers on a daily basis.
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What does a Project Coordinator do?
In many ways, the "PC" is the backbone of an "I
Have a Dream"® Project. He or she will run the Project
day-to-day, working with the Sponsor to develop a program of academic,
cultural, community service and enrichment activities, recruiting
volunteers, and building close relationships with Dreamers and
their families.
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How are Projects funded?
Some Sponsors provide all of the funding themselves while others
provide partial funding and seek community contributions for
their remaining needs. Foundations, corporations, individuals,
government agencies, church groups, college and others have all
supported local "I Have a Dream"® Projects.
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How can businesses help Dreamers?
Hundreds of businesses provide funding and in-kind donations, volunteer
tutors and mentors, role models, career guidance, internships
and employment. For example, Princeton Review offers discounts
to Dreamers on PSAT and SAT preparation courses, Southwest Airlines
employees volunteered as mentors, and Burger King underwrote
a summer academy at Florida Memorial College for Dreamers. The
national "I Have a Dream"® Foundation also partners
with businesses for national support of programs and in cause-related
marketing efforts.
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How can colleges help?
More than 200 college and universities work with "I Have a
Dream"®. Many provide tutors and mentors and host on-campus
activities during the school year. Others host summer camps and
offer internships and other opportunities for Dreamers.
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Who else can help?
"I Have a Dream"® welcomes anyone in the community who
wants to help our Dreamers. Individuals, churches and synagogues,
sports teams, civic and alumni groups and others lend their support
in many ways: funding, meeting space, tours, volunteer tutors and
mentors, "career days," tickets to cultural and sporting
events, transportation, and more. Everyone can pitch in to help
educate our children. Everyone can nourish a dream.
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How is an "I Have a Dream"® Project unique?
An "I Have a Dream"® Project is a focal point - it
brings the energy and resources of many people and organizations
to bear on the problems of children from low-income communities. "I
Have a Dream"® Sponsors provide leadership and personal
commitment, and they provide or secure funding. Project Coordinators
provide "hands-on" program management and services. Community-based
organizations, housing authorities, schools, colleges, corporations,
religious and civic groups, and individual volunteers contribute
in the myriad ways outlined above. The 'I Have a Dream"® Program
is unique in its long-term approach, its breadth of services, and
it combination of resources and one-on-one personal relationships.
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What impact does the "I Have a Dream"® Program have on its Dreamers?
Statistically, "I Have a Dream"® results have been
impressive. A 1992 study of eight "I Have a Dream"® Projects
in New York found that Dreamers graduated on time at a rate 63%
higher than their peers - and 73% of the graduating Dreamers were
enrolled in college the following year. More recently, the 2000-2001
Dreamer classes from East Palo Alto, California boasted an 89%
graduation/GED completion rate with 85% of the graduates enrolling
in college; Westbury, New York's Class of 1999 boasted 93% high
school graduation and 96% college enrollment rates. Studies have
also found that "I Have a Dream"® has a positive
impact on Dreamers' reading and math scores, school attendance,
and attitudes towards education.
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How important is parental involvement?
The opportunities and experiences "I Have a Dream"® offers
are most effective when parents encourage their children's participation.
Dreamer parents serve as mentors, activity leaders, and chaperones.
By supporting the program's goals and emphasizing the importance
of education, they make a tremendous contribution to the program's
impact.
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Can a Dreamer be expelled from the Program?
No. A child or his parents may choose not to actively participate,
but the "I Have a Dream"® philosophy is "Once
a Dreamer, always a Dreamer." As long as a child is interested
in working with "I Have a Dream"®, "I Have
a Dream"® will be there.
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How does a child become a Dreamer?
The Sponsor chooses an entire grade from a public elementary school
or an entire age group from a public housing development. Sponsors
make this choice in consultation with local school and housing
officials and community-based organizations, identifying groups
of socio-economically disadvantaged children. It is an "I
Have a Dream"® policy that the group be adopted no later
than the fourth grade; where possible, they are adopted as early
as kindergarten.
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Can individuals apply for an "I Have a Dream"® Scholarship?
We are sorry, but we cannot accept scholarship applications from
individuals. Because of the way our Projects adopt entire groups
of Dreamers, individual students cannot "apply" to
become Dreamers, and "I Have a Dream"® does not
offer financial aid or scholarships to non-Dreamers.
For more information about scholarships and
student financial aid please visit these sites:
The College Board
www.collegeboard.com
FinAid!
www.finaid.org
Online FAFSA (Free Application for Federal
Student Aid)
www.fafsa.ed.gov
U.S. Department of Education
www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/Students/student.html
Oregon Student Assistance
Commission
www.osac.state.or.us
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