Art Saves Lives:
Creating a Culture of
Confidence
OUR MISSION
DREAMS is a youth development
organization that is dedicated to building
creative, committed citizens, one child at a
time, by providing youth in need with
high-quality, free-of-charge programming
in the literary, visual and performing arts.
WHAT WE DO
Serve over 600 youth in need each year
through arts classes at our inner-city
Center and at 11 outreach sites
throughout the community
WHERE WE ARE
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Our Center
City recreation centers
Public housing
After-school programs
Schools (during the day and after
school)
Our initiatives include youth
entrepreneurship, public art, Teen
Council, visiting artists, and family
engagement
Serve an additional 500 youth and
families through family arts activities
WHY THE ARTS?
• Involvement in the arts is an unparalleled
means for young people to develop the
strength, resiliency and self-image that allow
them to participate in society on healthy
terms.
The Power of Art: The Arts as an Effective Strategy for At-Risk
Youth. Prepared for the California Endowment by Susan
Anderson, Nancy Walch, and Kate Becker.)
WHAT THE ARTS CAN DO
Research shows that sustained participation in a best practices,
community-based arts program such as DREAMS:
• Reduces delinquency and suspension rates
• Decreases gang involvement through a positive sense of
belonging
• Increases school and community attachment
• Cultivates positive conflict resolution skills
• Builds self-confidence and pro-social skills
• Fosters relationships with positive adult/peer role models
• Provides constructive opportunities for self-expression
• Promotes involvement in higher education
At-risk youth with a history of in-depth
arts involvement:
• Show better academic
outcomes than low-SES youth
who have less arts involvement
• Are more likely to attend college
than their low-arts engaged peers
(71% vs. 48%)
• Show achievement levels closer
to—and in some cases
exceeding—the levels shown by
the general population studied
• Participate in student
government and school service
clubs at 4x the rate of their peers
HOW IT’S DONE
DREAMS combines best
practices in after-school
programming, youth
development and arts
education to engage the
hardest-to-reach youth.
MENTORING BY TEACHING ARTISTS IN A
SMALL-GROUP SETTING
LONG-TERM INVOLVEMENT
SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES
OUTSIDE DREAMS
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
COLLEGE TOUR OF UNC-CHAPEL HILL
POSITIVE PEER RELATIONSHIPS
BROADENING CULTURAL HORIZONS
TEEN COUNCIL
AT THE BATTLESHIP
PLEIN AIR: PAINTING FOR A CAUSE
TAKING CENTER STAGE
EXHIBITING ARTWORK
YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Holiday
Family Arts
Night at
Maides
Park
Recreation
Center
PUBLIC ART
“I learned about how art can
affect a community and make
it better.” –Tyquez F.
“THE PARTNERSHIP WITH DREAMS NOT ONLY GAVE THIS
PROJECT A NAME, IT GAVE IT HOPE.”
--TOMMY TAYLOR, FORMER FOOD BANK COORDINATOR
OUR RESULTS
OVER THE PAST FIVE
YEARS:
100% of high school seniors
at the Center graduated,
and all went on to higher
education or the military
OUR RESULTS
• In 2010-11, 95% of parents stated that the program helped
their child’s confidence, improved their behavior, and
made a difference in their school experience
• 88% of youth stated that DREAMS helped them
accomplish something they were proud of
• More than 60% of students experienced increased protective
factors, including ability to work out conflicts and work
with others, sense of acceptance and belonging, access
to neighborhood resources and positive attitude
toward the future
DREAMS OF WILMINGTON, INC.
PO Box 363
Wilmington, NC 28402
(910) 772-1501
dreamsprograms@ec.rr.com