We are doing it.....we are going all in and diving head first into making the Dream Campaign a 501c3.
(we typed this up to go on our website that is COMING SOON ) :)
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This is a question that most of us have been
asked in our life time. The response is usually met with answers like, “ I want
to be an astronaut, a doctor, a singer, a lawyer, a teacher, an artist…..or if
you were me, a clown!” J
However, when we asked some of our students in the inner-city what they wanted
to be when they grew up they said, “ Work at McDonald’s, the skating rink, Six
Flags.” Those were not the answers we
were expecting to hear.
Through a series of conversations and activities we
discovered that many of these youth simply had not been taught or empowered to dream. We spent some time working
with them to stretch their imagination or hope factor for the future and after
a few weeks I asked them to write down 3 things they have always wanted to do,
places they always wanted to go, or things they always wanted to learn more
about. The answers revealed a
heartbreaking discovery. Many of these youth had not experienced basic positive
childhood experiences that many take for granted. “I want to go fishing. I want
to learn how to ride a bike. “ When it
came to the future we started getting answer like, “I want to learn how to do
hair. I want to be a coach. I want to learn how to draw.”
There are a large number of at-risk youth in this generation
who are living with no hope or dream for tomorrow. They are giving up in school
and failing because they have no care of a GPA or college because it doesn’t
feel like an option. They are joining gangs, getting in trouble and not caring
about the consequences because the opportunities for success and happiness feel
limited. We decided we could not sit
back and watch without offering hope of a different path.
The Dream Campaign’s mission is “to empower at-risk youth by teaching them to identify, pursue and achieve
their dreams through a series of positive experiences, mentoring, and
leadership development.”
We are in the process of filing for our 501c3. Please pray
for favor and a speedy turn around. Please check back for updates and looks for opportunities
to be involved and support these amazing youth. We will be starting with a program in Atlanta and Savannah. In the meantime….consider
buying a Dream Campaign
t-shirt to help us spread the word and support these efforts. Tshirts (which are navy blue) are $15 and can be ordered by emailing
me at Morgan@helpmedream.org.
Until then, we’ll keep dreaming til’ our dreams come true.
Blessings,
Morgan Paddock
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