About
Get to Know Us
DREAAM is a 501c3 community impact organization founded in 2015. We are driven to reach excellence through achievement, engagement, and behavioral health among boys and young men ages 3–24 years old.
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DREAAM offers several programs and events geared to empower, enable, and uplift boys in the Champaign County area. By creating a safe space for these boys to thrive at a young age, DREAAM empowers boys to achieve greatness. We strive to emphasize the importance of education and a career-bound mindset to serve our DREAAMers. Our approach consists of several need-based programs divided by age range, such as Saturday School, Youth Employment, and Cultural and Artistic Activities.
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How We Do It
By using a trauma-informed approach with all of our DREAAMers, we create a positive and resource-oriented environment. In order to do this, we use the Reach, Teach, Empower method.
Reach
We reach out to families, community organizations, churches, schools, and service providers to support DREAAMers from age 3–24, even in the face of challenges such as school suspension, anger issues, and parental incarceration. We see potential where others see problems and collaborate with various groups to provide outcome-driven services.
Teach
We teach resiliency, learning, and friendship skills from an early age, along with essential life skills such as collaboration, self-regulation, and adaptability for college and career success. We also teach effective parenting skills to empower parents and caregivers as leaders in schools and communities.
Empower
We empower DREAAMers to Dream Big! We create transformative experiences, trauma-informed spaces, and strength-based programs that benefit our children and young adults for years to come. We plant seeds of hope for the future of communities.