As a long-time part of the Asheville community, Mosaic Community Lifestyle Realty makes a point of working with and supporting the outstanding area organizations that advocate for the vitality and health of our region. To that end, Mosaic is offering a matching donation ahead of Giving Tuesday on Nov. 29, 2022, to benefit Asheville City Schools Foundation’s DREAM Team. From now until Nov. 29, Mosaic will match donations dollar for dollar, up to $10,000, to support DREAM, a program that cultivates a sense of home and belonging for students – just as Mosaic helps cultivate a sense of home in the Asheville area. Make your donation here: https://www.acsf.org/giving-tuesday
Students working and growing together
DREAM – “Dedicated, Responsible, Enthusiastic, After-School, Mentors” – is a youth-centered, paid internship program for high-school students to support the mission and programming of Asheville City Schools Foundation. DREAM is comprised of 18 diverse high school students who provide near-peer mentorship to middle schoolers in the In Real Life After-School program. DREAM creates an effective outlet for students grades 6 through 12 to work and grow together. As opposed to traditional student employment (fast food and service industry positions), students in DREAM receive competitive monthly wages, structured professional development, varied skills and work experiences, support in pursuing higher education, and opportunities to participate in extracurricular trips and events. DREAM is the next level of youth workforce development which draws direct connections to social-emotional learning; the professional life skills that provide an advantage in the workforce.
Applications for DREAM open each fall. Students in 10th-12th grade at Asheville High School and the School for Inquiry and Life Sciences at Asheville are eligible to apply to DREAM. Each student commits to one to three days per week and is compensated $12-$15 an hour.
Nurturing future leaders
Being part of this inclusive, unique after-school opportunity allows participants to explore different career paths while developing leadership and social-emotional learning skills. Leadership development for DREAM participants includes classroom and behavior management, cultural responsiveness, conflict resolution, and effective written/oral communication. DREAM interns have a hand in creating appropriate lesson plans for IRL students, and have the opportunity to incorporate the skills they learn from leadership development sessions.
Research shows that structured, peer mentoring programs such as DREAM increase the social, emotional and academic growth of youth. DREAM students report considerable increases in leadership skills as a result of participation, including increased sense of agency, self-advocacy, team-building, collaboration and conflict resolution skills.
“DREAM means a lot to me. DREAM is a safe place for me to be myself. When I'm working with DREAM, it doesn't even feel like a job because I'm enjoying what I do which is being able to provide for youth with different activities and programs. I definitely have grown since I've been working with DREAM. I have built stronger friendships because of DREAM and my confidence is a lot better because of DREAM.” - Antoria, DREAM Junior
To match Mosaic’s donation to DREAM, visit https://www.acsf.org/giving-tuesday today!
To learn more about other ways Mosaic contributes to the Asheville community, visit https://mymosaicrealty.com/donations-volunteer-program/. For more information about real estate in Asheville and Western N.C., please contact us at Info@MyMosaicRealty.com, or call us anytime at 828-707-9556.
Learn More: About DREAM
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