The DREAMS Program is a three-year curriculum based community mentoring project for schools and colleges. It started as a motivational music band at UC College, Aluva, India in 1998 and in 2003 at Dharmarama College, Bangalore. The program later evolved as a summer camp for the high school students of Changanacherry, Kerala.
In 2012 it established itself as a one-year program with a few follow up sessions in Monroe, Louisiana, USA. In the subsequent years, the program design was developed into a three-year after-school program with nine credit hours (eight days/year) for the middle school underperforming/under-serving teenagers.
The project was researched longitudinally at the University of Louisiana, Monroe, USA, on its impact on the middle school participants.
The focus on the holistic development of young adults is achieved through an active engagement between the youth, the community, and the local community volunteers. Apart from the focus on promoting individual strengths and psycho-social skills, the program also focuses on bringing the community back to schools and colleges.
The three-year model of the DREAMS Program is specifically designed and utilized to help the less privileged and the underperforming middle school students in their holistic development – year one focuses on Personal development, year two on Interpersonal skills, and year hree on Leadership skills.
This community mentoring project is implemented in Schools by College/University students with the support of the local community. 6th grade students with weak academic performances and/or with low self-esteem are identified from different local middle schools. Once the target group is identified, college students implement this intervention for eight days (45 hours) in a year with the support and guidance of the local community volunteers who manages the project.
This program and the community seeks to impart knowledge and tools for these students to grow into a better version of themselves, to lead not only themselves but societies around them to a better future.