Vermont "DREAM Team" Kids Meet President Bush

It was the chance of a lifetime for 22 Vermont youths - they got to meet the President of the United States at a White House celebration. The students live in a 36-unit family housing development owned by the Vermont State Housing Authority and subsidized with HUD project-based Housing Choice Vouchers.

The children, from Templeton Court Apartments in White River Junction, Vermont are part of the "DREAM Team." The DREAM program - which stands for "Directing through Recreation, Education and Mentoring" - is a mentoring program for lower-income youth started by two Dartmouth College students in 1999. Since then, Dartmouth students have been working with local Vermont youth.

The kids live in a Section 8 project-based facility in White River Junction, Vermont, about 8 miles from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The Dartmouth mentors meet with their young friends for at least 3 hours a week for fellowship, activities and instructions. The college students have raised more than $9,000 for the Templeton Court DREAM Team program through grant writing, local solicitations, an contributions, providing access and training on computers, field trips, sports activities, and helping create a library at Templeton Court. To make the Washington, DC trip possible, an additional $4,000 was raised, including $2,300 from the Vermont State Housing Authority.