BOULDER, Colo. – The kids who take part in Boulder County’s I Have a Dream Foundation after-school program will tell you they always have a lot of fun. Many of them, like 8th grader Lupita, will also tell you they get their homework done too.
“The program has really helped me with homework because when I was young I was really bad at homework,” she says.
Not only has the program helped Lupita with her homework, but it has also connected her with mentor Mollie McGill. The two have bonded over homework and more.
“We just have great conversations together,” Mollie says with a laugh. “One of the recent times we went out and had breakfast and we got to talking about TikTok and I told her I didn’t have it on my phone, so she borrowed my phone and she put TikTok on there. We followed each other and at the end of the week I was like, ‘Lupita I don’t really want to see all the things you're doing with your friends on TikTok. It’s like too much information. I really shouldn’t be watching this, right?”
The goal of the I Have a Dream Foundation’s mentor program is to help kids see their full potential and understand that their dreams can be achieved. To do that, they start working with cohorts of students when they’re in elementary school.
“We typically start a class when the students are in first and second grade and then we follow them, basically, for 13 years,” says executive director Dr. Perla Delgado. “It helps students realize their full potential, to see their strengths, to see what their families bring to our communities, and to thrive in our communities. It's an amazing adventure that we have with the students.”
It’s helping students like Lupita discover their own adventures that program director Natalia Luna says Mollie excels at.
- To learn more about Boulder County's I Have A Dream Foundation and how you can help, click here
“She's kindhearted. She's hard-working,” Natalia says. “She's always a team player. She always asks to do other responsibilities.”
Mollie says as much as she gives, she says her work with the I Have a Dream foundation gives her back so much more.
"I think it is like a lot of volunteer things that you do,” she says. “Often times you can back so much more than what you give, and I get back when I see those smiles.”
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