So this past weekend I went up to Burlington, VT with two members of my core team to go and work on our Organizational Processes project. We are working with a great non-profit based out of Burlington, called DREAM. They are a youth mentoring program who "build communities of families and college students that empower children from affordable housing neighborhoods to recognize their options, make informed decisions, and achieve their dreams." What a great program they have - from the moment that we arrived, we were welcomed not only by our gracious hosts and fellow staff members, but by a whole group of DREAM mentors and mentees! What an energy they all had for this program. We were invited to see a DREAM slideshow about a recent trip some of the mentors/mentees took to New York and Maine - every new picture was met with a loud cheer as all the kids yelled to support their fellow DREAMers. What a contagious energy! I walked in the door and immediately had a smile on my face. I would definitely recommend going to their website (http://dreamprogram.org/index.htm) and reading up on them and hopefully make a donation as they are doing some really good work up there in Vermont!
In addition to seeing DREAM in action, my teammates and I had a wonderful drive to and from VT. With the leaves changing colors and two beautiful days, we were met with some great scenery - another trip that anyone coming to New England should plan for. What better way to spend a weekend then driving, or even better - hiking, through the mountains with the fall colors. Something that I've missed since leaving New England 9 years ago! Also, on our drive, I had the great opportunity to gain a unique perspective on history, which even though I have an undergrad minor in history, I have never seen or heard before. It just so happens that my two teammates grew up in Russia and China. Two superpowers that I have heard many things about but mostly with an ethnocentric viewpoint. For the three hour car ride, I was exposed to the Russian and Chinese versions of modern history. What a great time to hear how America was viewed during the Cold War, etc. Definitely a ride that I won't forget!
Here's a challenge to all my readers: try to seek out someone/thing that you have had little exposure to and try to gain some insights on how they/it functions and how and why their/its position or perspective varies from your own. You are guaranteed to learn not only a ton about this person or thing, but you will learn a ton about yourself! Have fun with it too!
If you have any experiences you'd like to share, please leave a comment as I'd love to hear about it and so would my other readers!
More later....
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3 comments:
There's a new program at the Greenwood School in Putney Vermont with some wonderfully nurturing, world engaged, peace loving leaders. They take kids on service learning trips around the world and they might be a good fit with the folks from Dream. I will pass this along to them....Thanks
No problem. Hope that they can work something out! Thanks for reading and posting!
So the trip to Burlington has helped you a lot. As you got great respect from all after the great success to your trip.
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Jack
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