Imagine being a child trying to find the motivation to go to school each day, knowing that many of your family members didn’t graduate from high school.
And try to envision college in your future, even though you may only know one person – your teacher – who has ever attended college.
Now, imagine someone providing you with the mentoring, tools, and funding support to not only ensure that you succeed in school, but that you can go on to college and create an extraordinary future for yourself and others.
Too good to be true?
Not for the Des Moines “I Have A Dream” Foundation, for which Acceleration Masterminder Emily Hamilton is the Executive Director. This exceptional not-for-profit provides elementary school children who are at risk of dropping out of school with an adult mentor who essentially says, “I am here to help you, from now until you graduate.” In addition, they provide educational resources and financial support so that each student has the tools they need to succeed in school and beyond.
In the 4 years that Emily has led this organization, they have continued support for two classes of Dreamers – the Oakridge Dreamers, now in college, and the King Dreamers, now in 9th grade. In addition, they have enhanced support for students and their families, created new partnerships with other nonprofits, and developed a model for intervention to greatly increase I Have A Dream’s community impact. With the launch of The Dreamer Academy this fall, the number of students and families that will benefit from long-term, proactive support and mentorship will grow exponentially in the years to come.
Emily has always been able to dream big, but with the magnitude of The Dreamer Academy, she wasn’t sure how to move from vision to reality – or if she was the right person to make that happen. “I knew that if I wanted to see this vision through, I’d need to really strengthen my management skills, rev up my fundraising efforts, and figure out ways to be a lot more efficient with my time,” Emily admitted.
Hence, she enrolled in the Acceleration Mastermind.
The result? “I Have A Dream has raised more money this year than in the past 3 years combined – nearly $650,000 for The Dreamer Academy,” Emily recently shared. “We’ve doubled our staff, successfully navigated a number of tricky partnerships, and launched our new program! It’s so exciting to see all our hard work coming together to create really amazing results.
“I don’t know if I Have A Dream – or I – would be where we are today if not for the Mastermind group.”
Like all Masterminders, Emily has advanced her organization exponentially while learning a great deal about herself in the process.
“What I love about Mastermind is that we’re all in very different sectors. It sounds like the opening line of a joke: ‘So a banker, a lawyer, a professional organizer, a life coach, a marketing business owner, and a nonprofit leader sit down at a table…’ The result is that, even though our businesses are all very different – or maybe because they are – we’re able to offer lots of different ideas that can be translated to our various fields.”
Emily has experienced her share of challenges this year, but Masterminding, coaching, and support help her move forward. “I am now at the point where I know I can do this!”
To learn more about Emily and the Des Moines “I Have A Dream” Foundation, visit http://www.desmoinesdreams.org. Watch a recent news clip here.
Interested in joining the Acceleration Mastermind for 2015? Click here to request an application.
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Dr. Christi Hegstad helps you successfully do what you love! As a Certified Executive and Leadership Coach and the President of MAP Professional Development Inc., she coaches executives and leaders who need to get unstuck – whether in your leadership ability, income level, or from spinning your wheels in the day-to-day. Christi helps you flourish towards your purposeful vision with clarity, confidence, and meaningful action.
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