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Did you know DREAAM is a Charity Running Partner for the Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend? The big weekend is coming up April 28-30, and we are looking for 10 volunteers to work the expo or be out on the course during the races. If you're interested, see how to sign up below. And THANK YOU!!! If you would like to run for DREAAM, click here. Instructions for Volunteers to Sign Up: 1. Click on this link to sign up to volunteer for a volunteer position with the Christie Clinic Race Weekend during race week (April 27-30). https://illinoismarathon.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/ 2. You will see the following four options a. Expo Volunteer Positions (April 28-29) b. Friday Course Team Positions (April 29) c. Saturday Course Team Positions (April 30) d. Start/Finish/Stadium/Airport Volunteer Positions (April 27-30) 3. Click on one of the above options and look for a position that fits your availability. 4. When you find one that works for you, click the small white box to the left of the time of your shift (if it is not already checked). 5. Scroll down and start entering your email address, first name, last name, t-shirt size, etc. until you reach the disclaimer. Make sure to choose our organization from the list of Charity Running Partner organizations in the questions that asks "Are you with a charity running partner?" Read the disclaimer, click the box that says you accept the terms, and enter your name as a digital signature right below the line where you clicked the box to accept the terms (the box is hard to see). 6. Click the “Sign Up To Volunteer” button. 7. You should receive a confirmation email. If you don’t receive an email, check your spam and junk folders. If not there, click this link http://illinoismarathon.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/self_check.php?, enter your email address and first name and click “Submit.” You will receive an email message in your inbox. Click the link to check to see if your information was entered correctly. You can update your information at this link or cancel your participation if your plans change. Thank you! If you have any questions, please email them to volunteer@illinoismarathon.com.

To view a pdf version, click below.

Resolution of Appreciation Dorothy Scott Chesser from the DREAAM House Board of Directors We, the Board of Directors of DREAAM House, grieve with and for our Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Tracy Dace, upon the physical death of his Mother, Dorothy Scott Chesser. Whereas our Friend and Brother Tracy Dace was born into a Christian home and nurtured with siblings by a Mother committed to loving God and serving neighbor; Whereas Ms. Chesser nurtured and served not only her own children but also the children in her community as their constant advocate for justice and dignity; Whereas we all stand on the shoulders of giants, and Ms. Chesser was one such giant in her community and in the State of Mississippi from whom generations of neighbors have drawn strength and hope; Whereas we affirm with Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth that “If one member [of the body] suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it” (First Corinthians 12:26). Therefore, be it resolved that we celebrate the life and legacy of Dorothy Scott Chesser; we grieve her loss; we rejoice in her life; we thank God for her witness; and we recommit with hope and courage to live into our calling to love and serve our neighbors—especially the children and families entrusted to our care—in whose face is graven the image of God. Respectfully submitted, on behalf of the DREAAM House Board of Directors, William P. “Matt” Matthews, Jr President of the Board January 21st, 2022 Champaign, Illinois

From all of us at DREAAM, we wish you and yours a spectacular year ahead!

Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. The whole idea behind Giving Tuesday is that no one can do everything, but everyone can do something. And when we do it together, the impact is multiplied. No matter how you celebrate Giving Tuesday, we thank you for your generosity and helping make this world a better place. If you'd like to make a contribution to DREAAM as a part of your Giving Tuesday, you can do so here. Thank you for your support as we build HOPE for the FUTURE!

We are elated to share this news... We reached out for your help, and you sure stepped up and provided!!! This past week, with your help, DREAAM was able to give away more than 140 new coats, 50 hams, 150 turkeys, 1,080 socks, 360 gloves, 360 knit hats, and 200 laundry detergent items, in partnership with the Foster Grandparent Program, the Wayne McClain Pipeline Foundation, and other supporters. We are so grateful for your support! With that, we embrace you. This is the time when we pause to count our blessings. Here at DREAAM, you're surely one of our blessings! And we thank you for being such an important and special part of the DREAAM family! From all of us at DREAAM, we wish you and yours a beautiful and bountiful holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

In Remembrance of Mrs. Janice Mitchell, a visionary, family advocate, and a phenomenal woman With heavy hearts, DREAAM joins our community in celebrating the life and legacy of Janice Mitchell. Many of our staff worked with Mrs. Mitchell, as she was an incredibly kind, encouraging, and ever optimistic leader and mentor to us. Mrs. Mitchell devoted her time, talents, and treasures to Urbana youth and their families, always encouraging them (and everyone) to achieve their highest potential and contribute to build a better community. She also provided guidance and support to many local organizations, but especially put her mark on the community through her visionary work with Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center, which she founded in 2010. Mrs. Mitchell put her whole heart into her work and our community. What a blessing she was to all she came across! Our thoughts and prayers are with Mrs. Mitchell's family, friends, and UNCC staff and families. She will be deeply missed by all of us at DREAAM. May we all carry on her legacy and spread hope and healing to our communities.

DREAAM is hosting a coat drive! We have 25 so far, but we are in need of 50. You can sign up to purchase a coat on our main page: dreaam.org or by clicking the link below. New coats will be distributed on Saturday, Nov. 20th during a Thanksgiving Giveaway in partnership with the Foster Grandparent Program of the Wayne McClain Pipeline Foundation. Since coats will be distributed on the 20th, we are in need of those new coats by Thursday, Nov. 18th. Can you help? Sign up by November 12th here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfLE9o5BYCCJgyndJa7kCTUdmxXVoHXCGZ3o8aCP7pLdQSS-A/viewform Thank you!!!

We are so grateful for all who came out and supported DREAAM and our inaugural Dream Big! Fall Festival on October 16, 2021! We are inspired by our community and they way everyone came together to celebrate DREAAM’s first 6 years and to build HOPE for the FUTURE for our children here in Champaign County and beyond. Thank you friends, volunteers, DREAAM families, and all who helped make this vision a beautiful and humbling success! We couldn't have asked for a better day to celebrate kids and families of DREAAM! We are so GRATEFUL for YOU! Let's continue to DREAM BIG!

...by participating in our inaugural Dream Big! Fall Festival Silent Auction! Our DREAAMers are counting on you! Our inaugural Dream Big! Fall Festival is just 8 days away! But our Dream Big! Fall Festival SILENT AUCTION opens TODAY, OCTOBER 8 AT NOON! Please help us reach our goal of raising $25,000! Here's how: 1. Register for the silent auction and get ready to bid! We have some incredible items and trip packages up for grabs! You can get a sneak peek by clicking "I'm already registered" here. For those of you who cannot make the event in person, you can bid from home or anywhere! Admission is FREE and you can join the action anytime before bidding ends at 2:45 PM CST on the 16th! REGISTER HERE FOR THE SILENT AUCTION! 2. Purchase raffle tickets! You can purchase raffle tickets ahead of time and pick them up at the event. At the event, you can pick and choose which raffles you would like to enter! There are many items to win, such as restaurant gift cards, floral arrangements, meal kits, and more! MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE RAFFLE TICKETS. 3. DONATE! You can ALWAYS help fund our mission! By donating to DREAAM's Dream Big! Fall Festival and helping us reach our goal of $25,000, you're helping us open our new DREAAM Beginners Pre-K Program and also continue to provide healing-centered, educational programming for our DREAAMers. DONATE NOW! Winners of our silent auction will be announced at 3:30pm on our Facebook page! Here are some helpful answers to your silent auction questions: https://intercom.help/networkforgood/en/articles/5497774-auctions-faq-common-bidder-questions

DREAAM's Dream Big! Fall Festival is a celebration of our first six years and our amazing community! And YOU ARE INVITED!!! Join us for fun for the whole family! DREAAM's Dream Big! Fall Festival will have many exciting activities, including pumpkin decorating, lots of games, music, performances by our DREAAMers and other entertainment, food trucks, raffles, a silent auction, photo booth, and much more. Special guests will be dropping in throughout the event. You won't want to miss it!!! Proceeds from our Dream Big! Fall Festival will help fund our new DREAAM Beginners Pre-Kindergarten Program, which will be piloted for the first year beginning November 1st, 2021. This program will provide multi-generational education and socio-emotional developmental opportunities to impact both the child and the guardian. Check out more about the event and RSVP here! https://dreaam.networkforgood.com/events/33495-dream-big-fall-festival

Since mentoring is an important aspect of DREAAM, we wanted to share an important message from MENTOR National. As the mentoring field is continually growing and evolving, so must research about mentoring. MENTOR, the national champion for the mentoring movement, recently released its latest Research Agenda outlining four key areas to meet the emerging needs of the field and inform funders and policymakers about how the mentoring movement can be strengthened. The agenda lays out these priorities as focus areas: Increase research on the role of mentoring in supporting youth identity development and combating loneliness and isolation. Study innovative strategies to expand the opportunities for mentoring relationships that occur naturally within systems and institutions. Increase actionable research on mentoring that occurs in diverse programmatic settings. Invest in more research on the societal-level changes that are produced by mentoring relationships. Mike Garringer, MENTOR’s Director of Research and Evaluation, says, “MENTOR was honored to work with so many researchers, practitioners, and thought leaders on this project, and we look forward to sharing it with a range of stakeholders so we can continue to inform our movement and support young people wherever they are.” “By putting forth this agenda," he says, “we can ensure that our mentoring research is actionable, and that the resulting resources and tools bridge the gap from research to practice.” To learn more about MENTOR and the research surrounding the mentoring movement, contact Mike Garringer.