"I Have a Dream" Foundation Welcomes new AmeriCorps

“I Have a Dream”® Foundation of Boulder County Welcomes Fourteen New AmeriCorps Members
Two AmeriCorps Members Return for Second Year of ServiceFourteen recent college graduates have decided to give a year of their life to service by working with the “I Have a Dream Foundation”® through the federally funded AmeriCorps program. Katie Armstrong, Karly Bjella, Garrett Brownlee, Josh Butler, Voni Deeds, Ali Graham, Erin Kulmac, Britt Lea, Ryan Planz, Sarah Roberts, Kim Sirridge, and Becca Weaver will work at various sites throughout Boulder County for the drop-out prevention program. In addition, Katie Petrie and Sri Bangaru will be returning for their second year of service with “I Have a Dream.”
The new service members represent twelve states (Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Vermont, Texas, Wisconsin, Oregon, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, and West Virginia), numerous college majors and unique histories. Britt Lea worked for an international affairs organization for three years before deciding to enroll with the AmeriCorps VISTA program.
“Making a tangible difference in my community is important to me,” said Lea. “After three years of not seeing direct results of my work, I wanted to involve myself in an organization whose methods were proven and goals were consistently met. The “I Have a Dream Foundation” was the perfect fit.”
“We are very appreciative and fortunate to receive a year of service from our AmeriCorps members,” said Lori Canova, Chief Executive Officer of IHAD. “To give a year of their lives to help the Dreamers graduate from high school and enter college is very commendable.”
AmeriCorps members are required to make a one-year commitment and to work an average of 40 hours per week. In exchange for their service, AmeriCorps members receive a small living allowance. All participants who successfully complete a year of service also receive a $4,725 educational award for college and/or graduate school, or to pay off past student loans.About The “I Have a Dream”® Foundation of Boulder County Since 1990, the “I Have a Dream”® Foundation of Boulder County has helped 400 children from low-income areas achieve their
education and career goals by providing long-term personal and academic support, tutoring, mentoring and four-year tuition-assistant scholarships to each graduating student. The organization adopts entire groups of students from elementary schools, or from low-income public housing sites and works with these children and their families through high school. Currently, there are five IHAD classes in Boulder County, in Boulder, Longmont and Lafayette. The program doubled expected graduation rates for its first two graduating classes of students, and awards over $90,000 in scholarships each year.
The program follows the national model established in New York in 1981 by founder Eugene Lang. Since then, 180 Projects nationwide have helped more than 14,000 students. The “I Have a Dream”® Foundation of Boulder County’s main office is located at 2515 E. Sterling Circle, Suite 200, Boulder, CO 80301. For more information, call 303-444-3636 or visit www.ihadboulder.org.