As U.S. Dream Academy celebrated 20 years of building up, tutoring and mentoring youth who have incarcerated parents, throughout the country, they held their 18th Annual Power of A Dream Gala, with this year’s theme, “Dream Forward.”
“We were asking ourselves, ‘How can we help some of the DreamKids develop their skills and help them see the potential of their dreams?” said Jim Ayres, managing director for Amway North America and a Dream Academy board member.
The Gala honored Award-Winning Icon Cicely Tyson, MENTOR CEO David Shapiro, and Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Alumna, Mpumi Nobiva
ORLANDO, FL – U.S. Dream Academy is excited to announce the details of the 3rd Annual Dream Believe Achieve Dinner and Auction, a dinner and auction to benefit after-school and mentoring programs in Orlando. This highly anticipated event will begin at 6:00 pm on Thursday, October 13, 2016, and will take place at Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, FL.
Wintley Phipps performs with the Dream Kids and the Takoma Academy Chorale at the U.S. Dream Academy's 15th annual Power of a Dream Gala on May 3, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
In September 2016, we received the exciting news that we were awarded a highly competitive national grant for $2 million from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to enhance our mentor program with increased mentor recruitment training and support, further adoption of the Developmental Relationship Framework, as well as the development of a new race and equity module for mentor training. This three-year grant also allows for further evaluation of our programs, improvement of our cloud-based database, and continued partnerships with The Search Institute and the American Institute of Research.
Make dinner a selfless act by joining us for a fundraiser to support U.S. Dream Academy.
The U.S. Dream Academy focuses on impacting the lives of children with incarcerated parents thru an after school mentoring, tutoring and technology program in 7 cities, including Washington, D.C. and Baltimore and this is their biggest fundraiser of the year.
Yolanda Vazquez talks with C. Diane Wallace Booker, ESQ. , Executive Director, U.S. Dream Academy. They discuss the 13th Annual “Power of A Dream” Gala that will take place June 11th, at the Hilton Hotel in Washington DC. Follow U.S. Dream Academy on Facebook and Twitter.
This holiday season support the U.S. Dream Academy every time you shop online at no cost to you!
The U.S. Dream Academy, Inc. is a proud Supporting Partner of MENTOR.
Over our pilot program’s first three years, Orlando DreamTeens have a 94% on-time high school graduation rate.
The Oprah Winfrey Network Features Wintley Phipps on SuperSoul Sunday on Sunday, November 22 at 7:00 PM EST.
“Your Best Destiny” Becoming The Person You Were Created to Be on October 15, 2015
Join a Global Movement and Give Back
SEATTLE, March 19, 2014 – Howard Schultz, chairman, president and ceo of Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), and Oprah Winfrey, global media leader and philanthropist, today announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration to co-create Teavana® Oprah Chai Tea. Beginning April 29, Teavana Oprah Chai will be sold in Starbucks and Teavana stores across the U.S. and Canada, with Starbucks making a donation for each product sold to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation to benefit educational opportunities for youth.
When a parent goes to prison, children serve a sentence of their own.
The Baltimore Sun
Learning to “dream big” – U.S. Dream Academy Stephon Littles and his niece Dahmierah Baker were in elementary school when their fathers were incarcerated in unrelated incidents. Both children felt alone and were unsure of their futures. They didn’t have supportive adults around to help guide them during a painful time in their young lives. Then they found U.S. Dream Academy, one of the beneficiary nonprofit organizations.
Renowned vocalist and pastor Wintley Phipps has performed for American presidents and dignitaries around the world, but it was singing for prison inmates that perhaps touched him most—particularly seeing the dearth of hope in the eyes of children visiting their incarcerated parents.
U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah used a stop in Philadelphia late last week to promote a measure that would divert monies recouped from federal seizures and not used for victim restitution toward three broad programs, including funds for programs related to science, technology, engineering and math, also known as STEM.
And they said the Jazz don't allow headbands. One girl wore a pink one to hold back her hair, and another had a flower tucked behind her ear. The Jazz hosted 38 at-risk local youths from the U.S. Dream Academy for an afternoon clinic Wednesday at Zions Bank Basketball Center. The children worked on basketball skills with point guard Mo Williams and forward Derrick Favors and listened to coach Tyrone Corbin talk about his own childhood, growing up in a single-parent home in the projects of Columbia, S.C.
SALT LAKE CITY — Hours after their morning workout, Mo Williams and Derrick Favors returned to the Utah Jazz's practice facility to spend time with a group of kids.
ANCILE (pronounced an-SIGH-lee) just held the grand opening for its world headquarters on Marshalee Drive. The company, which broke off from RWD Technologies last year, provides online help and products for employee training.
The author Wes Moore escaped partly because of family support and partly because he was helped by mentors at his military school. Not surprisingly, Mr. Moore believes passionately in mentoring, partly because so many boys in poor families have no father at home and lack male role models. He mentors boys and girls in Baltimore and New York and is directing some of the profits from his book to two organizations that provide mentoring. Two Men and Two Paths: ...One is City Year, which supports young people taking a year of public service to work in impoverished neighborhoods. Another is the U.S. Dream Academy, which supports children whose parents are in prison (and who are consequently at great risk themselves of tumbling into trouble).
The U.S. Dream Academy, a nonprofit charity, sponsors after-school learning centers in Salt Lake City and nine other cities in America. The academies are meant to break the cycle of generational incarceration and poverty by giving at-risk children, such as those with incarcerated parents or a destructive home life, a place to learn and play after school. This includes having a personal mentor.
Grammy-nominated Gospel singer Wintley Phipps is a familiar voice at big national events. At President Barack Obama’s National Prayer Service following his Inauguration, Phipps’s rendition of “Amazing Grace” brought the entire National Cathedral audience, including the new president and first lady, to their feet. But he says it’s just as meaningful to him when he sings in places like prisons.
Gossett Jr. was in town for last week's "Power of a Dream" gala, which provides support for the children of prisoners. Click and listen to the full podcast to find out what Gossett hopes Obama will do on the issue of criminal justice, and how he thinks D.C. has changed over the years.
We kicked off the Memorial Day weekend early last Thursday with the U.S. Dream Academy Gala at the Ritz Carlton, where actors, musicians, and news anchors convened to give children of incarcerated parents a chance at a brighter future.
The four-day event was kicked off by legendary gospel singer Dottie Peoples who performed for the crowd. Recording artist Wintley Phipps sang and spoke as well, focusing on the importance of family, unity and togetherness. Phipps founded the U.S. Dream Academy, a national non-profit that mentors children of inmates as well as those failing in school.
Grand Rapids, Mich., Nov. 28, 2005 – Jody Victor of the Independent Business Owners Association International (IBOAI) announced the trade association’s enthusiastic support for Quixtar’s sponsorship of the U.S. Dream Academy.
U.S. Dream Academy will double the size of its after-school mentoring and technology training programs for at-risk youth in D.C. and nine other cities. Plans to add 15 new centers by 2013 will be made possible through a $2 million donation from The Atlantic Philanthropies.
Orlando hotelier Harris Rosen is among five honorees to be recognized by the U.S. Dream Academy Inc. at a gala fund-raising dinner to be held May 24 in Washington, D.C.
Born in Trinidad and raised in Montreal, Phipps didn't become intimately familiar with gospel music until he attended Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala. As his recording career blossomed, Phipps, who has earned degrees in theology and divinity, began ministering in prisons. Visiting with inmates had a profound effect. "It's one thing to hear that one out of every three African-American men are in prison or on probational parole," Phipps said. "But when you're walking around the prisons and it looks like Morehouse, when it looks like a historically black college, it shakes you to your core, especially if you have children."
