New batch of ‘Dreamers’ sought for education benefits

I Have a Dream Las Vegas has 10 openings for disadvantaged eighth- and ninth-graders who live in North Las Vegas. Selected "dreamers" will receive immediate free tutoring, mentoring and full college scholarships to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The I Have a Dream Foundation -- named after the famous Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speech -- is a nonprofit whose mission is "to help at-risk children from low-income communities become productive citizens by providing a long-term program of tutoring, mentoring and enrichment," said Lindsey Harper, executive director of the Las Vegas branch.

Headquartered at Texas Station, I Have A Dream Las Vegas operates on an annual budget of about $250,000, about 75 percent of which is provided by Station Casinos. (The bulk comes through corporate and private donations and an annual September fundraiser.) It is staffed by three full timers and 75 volunteers.

The Las Vegas chapter joined the national foundation in 1996, when co-sponsors Julie Murray and Kevin Stolworthy sought to help the children of Bud Weeks Plaza housing project who were attending kindergarten through third grade at Bracken Elementary School. Harrah's Entertainment Inc. provided the initial funding.

The foundation adopted 65 dreamers, pledging to help them through 2012, when the last one graduates high school.

"But because of time and losing touch, we would like to adopt another group of students," Harper said. "We have a certain amount of money in our endowment funding that was raised to support that original 65 dreamers."

To qualify, students must be in eighth or ninth grade, be eligible to receive free or reduced-price school lunches and maintain a grade-point average of at least 2.0.

Harper said they should also live in North Las Vegas.

"But if there was a student who lived in Henderson who was really willing to work hard and had a high GPA, but couldn't afford to go to college, we would take them into the program," she said.

Contact Harper at 966-3126. A final decision will be made in January.

Contact reporter Corey Levitan at clevitan@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0456.