The dog days of summer are upon us. It's hot, school's about to start, and people are wrapping up their vacations. Are you reaching the end of this fun season wishing you'd spent more time in the pool? Or maybe you're planning on squeezing one last camping getaway into the remaining weekends. Whatever your plans are, we hope you have a very happy end to this summer.
The end of the summer at A Child's Dream symbolizes an exciting time for our staff and volunteers. We're working very hard to publicize two very exciting things. This blog post is going to highlight one of those - our application period. We're currently in the midst of an application period where we actively look for dream kids.
What does that mean; to actively look for dream kids? Thanks to our dedicated volunteers on the Dream Team, we're working hard to make sure all the schools in Larimer County know about the deadline of September 15. We also have volunteers approaching the other nonprofits that work with the same demographic of kids. Getting the word out through the local media has also been started. Hopefully you'll hear all about our agency and the dreams we grant in the next month and a half.
From there, the volunteers on the Dream Team will begin to conduct phone interviews and review the applications. This is a tough process to undergo. Their hardest task is to figure out if this truly is the child's dream. These people aren't afraid to ask, "If this child could do anything in the world, what would it be?"
The applications are then reviewed in a group setting, and the Dream Team decides who will receive an in-person interview. The in-person interview is pretty tricky because we don't want to tell the kids why we're there. However, we want to make sure we hear their stories and their dreams.
From there, the Dream Team meets one more time to send their final recommendations on to the board. This entire process from promotion to recommendations takes about 12 weeks. This is a marathon of emotions, time, and energy. We couldn't find deserving kids if it weren't for this wonderful team of volunteers. We're very excited to have added new members and know they will do a great job.
So, that brings us to you. What can you do to help us? Why not recommend a child to receive a dream? Maybe you have a neighbor whose child is sick. Maybe your child has a chronic illness that they battle every day. Maybe there are kids at the agency you volunteer with that are low income and could use an opportunity to see that life isn't going to be surviving meal to meal for the rest of their lives. You'd be surprised how many kids qualify for dreams, and yet how few applications we end up receiving. We are opening our doors, and we want them to be blow off.
What makes a good application? The more information the Dream Team has, the better and more informed decision they can make as to whether or not to send the application along in the process. The applications are six pages long for a reason. It takes time and thought to make a great application, and we take time and energy to read every single one and make a tough decision. When all of the applications say the dream is to go to Disney, we have a hard time discerning how and why this would benefit the child. Tell a story and feel free to use extra paper.
We want to make dreams come true. Help us by sending us children - we're excited for a 2012 dream granting. Help make a dream come true!
