April 30, 2008

*Release courtesy of I Have A Dream Foundation

Omar, a 9th grader at Niwot High School, has big dreams. He was adopted into the "I Have a Dream" program in elementary school and ever since he was a little boy in cowboy boots, he has been encouraged to set his aspirations high. A few weeks ago he told his AmeriCorps tutor Rachel Brooks that "I Have a Dream" should have a basketball tournament. Omar had great ideas about how the tournament would go and wanted to invite Dreamers from all over Boulder County to participate. Thanks to Omar's vision and the hard-work of Rachel (Omar's AmeriCorps tutor), "I Have a Dream's" Program Director Cathie Williamson, Metro State Women's Basketball Head Coach Linda Lappe and approximately 10 Metro State Basketball players and assistant coaches, this particular dream of Omar's became a reality.

The "I Have a Dream" Basketball Clinic and Tournament took place this April at Angevine Middle School. Over 30 Dreamers participated in the event, and all seemed to walk away with exhausted smiles after a hard day's work.

The Men's and Women's Metro State Basketball Team ran the activities of the day--the first half covering skills and techniques such as defense, dribbling, free-throws and diving after "loose" balls, and the second-half being a 3 on 3 tournament.

At lunch, which was donated by Snarf's, Moe's Bagels, and Mad Greens of Boulder, Dreamers sat with their 3 on 3 teams and the Metro player who would be their "coach" for the afternoon tournament and talked about team strategy, sports, interests, and what it was like to be an athlete in college.

The Basketball Tournament was a huge success, ending with an awards ceremony, during which Metro players gave Dreamers Metro State shirts and shorts as prizes. One special prize, a basketball signed by all the Metro State Basketball players, was given to Omar for coming up with such a fantastic event!

"I Have a Dream," a school drop-out prevention program for low-income youth, uses academic support programs, long-term mentoring relationships and the guarantee of a tuition-assistance scholarship to help children achieve their dreams.

"It's wonderful to see our Dreamers participate in events like this," said Chief Executive Officer Lori Canova. "Not only does it give them something constructive and active to do, the coaching and role modeling from the players encourages the children to do their best in order to reach their full potential."

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-assistance 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 "I Have a Dream" classes in Boulder County, in Boulder, Longmont, and Lafayette.

The program has doubled expected graduation rates for its three graduated 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, 190 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 about the "I Have a Dream"® Foundation, call 303-444-3636 or visit www.ihadboulder.org.