News Archives:
4/11/11 Masterchef with Tim & Yas!
Friday night was a spectacular night for the DFM boys, as we gave them the opportunity to participate in a good old Aussie style barbecue. Tuneer, David, Reza and JC became the head chefs, with special guidance from Tim, Yas and Alex. Tuneer and JC were in charge of dessert and learnt how to cook waffles, while Reza and David were in charge of the burgers. A are very appreciative for Tim & Yas for opening up their home for us and for their organisation of the evening. For many children with refugee backgrounds these sorts of experiences are few and far between. We are thankful the families of these boys have allowed us to step in a give them an experience ‘top up’ through Dream For Me, and we look forward to extending these opportunities to more young people next year. Our weekly homework clubs have continued, again providing an opportunity for children to revise work from their day at school. With english being the second, third or even fourth language for some of our parents, it is vital we provide english support for their children.

28/10/11 Bye Bye Ali, Homework Club, Spare Change, Melbourne Heart and much more…
It has been an exciting few weeks for DFM as we inch closer towards the end of our first year. The homework clubs continue to take place and we will be posting some reports from them soon, sadly we farewelled Ali and his family who are now visiting family in Pakistan, we held our term 4 session of ‘Spare Change’, where teachers and mentors give up their own spare time to make a change in the lives of others focusing on their literacy and finally this weekend we managed to take Jean Claude’s father and his friend to their first live soccer game. We were treated with impressive seats by the Melbourne Heart, who battled it out for a 1-1 draw. Godefred and Felix, who grew up loving soccer back in Africa, were amazed with AAMI Park and promised they would return. They are simple things like visiting a library or going out to the soccer, but not so simple for those with a refugee background. Thank you to all of those supporting us, as we look to give an equal opportunity to the people of Dandenong. Take some time and check out some of our recent photos in the gallery and ‘like’ us on facebook to stay up to date with all we are doing!

14/10/11 Ice Skating @ The Ice House
For children coming from such warm places as Africa and India, a trip down to the ice skating rink might not be all that common. So this week we had a great opportunity to take the DFM crew to the Ice House, where they skated, fell, ate, skated, fell again, laughed, fell, enjoyed one another’s company, and then fell again! The night was a huge success and extra special thanks are owed to Kate & Julia Moore for their generous support of the evening. It is really pleasing to see the boys growing closer to one another, and from our visits with the families during the week it is clear that having a supportive community network is a desire shared by all. Through DFM these boys are making bonds that will hopefully last forever. As always there are some snapshots from our night in the gallery, so go check them out!

30/9/11 Holiday Fun: The Police Academy & Mini Golf
A lot of adults who move to Australia have interesting and often negative experiences in the past in relation to the Police from their own countries. Therefore we thought it would be a great opportunity to take the DFM crew to the Police Academy in Waverly, to show them exactly how Aussie Police are trained and prepared to serve and protect. On this trip Mark took care of David, JC and Reza; I took care of Ali, Winis, Ankush and Tuneer; and Clem took care of John, Liam and Khalil. We believe making strong, positive connections is more achieveable in small group settings, and that these young boys will benefit in the years to come from having these additional responsible role models in their lives. After Maha Sukka took us on a lengthy tour of the academy (with the shooting range being the show stopper!), we challenged our groups to a game of Mini Golf, and then capped it all off with a big lunch. Thank you to the Victorian Police for allowing us this opportunity and to my wonderful helpers on the day. Check out the gallery to see some more of our day! 

11/9/11 ‘Africa In Need’ – Basketball Clinic
On the 11th of September we entered the DFM boys into Yusuf Qaafow’s ‘Africa In Need’ basketball fundraiser, aimed at raising money to support the Somali communities currently doing it extremely tough. Winis, Reza, Ankush, David, Jean Claude and Ali were all very happy to be involved in this fun day, which included visits from NBL legends, making new friends, a lot of sausages, some new skills and two very annoyed Essendon supporters! We would like to specially thank everyone who has shown support for DFM (in a variety of ways) over the past month and we have some big things lined up for the future. Make sure you check out the gallery for some new photos and keep yourself up to date with our project. Pictures have also been added from brothers John and David recording their new song, ‘Dream For Me’. Credit is due to Yusuf for using his talents and influence for good, in a world that needs more people doing the same.

3/9/11 Ali & Ablett!
This weekend we helped one of Ali’s dreams come true, as we took him to see his hero Gary Ablett Jrn and the Gold Coast Suns take on the Melbourne Demons. If you have ever met Ali you would know why this was such a special day for him. This was also the first AFL game and first time going to the MCG for Reza, who has only recently arrived from Christmas Island. It was a beautiful day, and as always many funny moments were shared. Reza has joined us at DFM and has become an excepted member of the group, participating in weekly homework sessions and showing some good improvements at school. A big thank you to Ben for helping us with tickets for today.

20/8/11 Healesville Sanctuary
This past weekend we took the opportunity to take our largest group of DFM kids to Healesville Sanctuary. Dandenong’s multicultural community was on full display as we had young people from South Sudan, Iran, Tanzania, India, Afghanistan and Cambodia come along. With the assistance of our volunteers Kristen and Jye, it allowed us to bring more people along for this fantastic opportunity to get out into the Australian nature. The highlight of the day (besides some delicious sausage rolls!) was the Spirits of the Sky show, which featured a variety of Australian birds performing before our very eyes. A new set of pictures are now available in our gallery and some videos from the day are now up on our youtube channel, also accessable through the gallery. Keep dreaming and believing for greater opportunities for these special people and their families!

13/8/11 Local Recognition
Dream For Me has been working hard to support young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds with our youth development programme and tutoring support. We were very lucky this week when the Dandenong Leader showed their support for our work by placing us on the front page of this week’s edition (nothing to do with the headline below!), as well as running this story about us in the ‘people’ section. The boys were very excited to be local celebraties for the week, and we would like to take this little moment of success to thank everyone for their support so far.

5/8/11 Indoor Rock Climbing
Tonight we took the DFM crew out to Hard Rock Indoor Rock Climbing in Nunawading for an exciting night. Joining our usual crew of JC, David, Ali and Tuneer were Ankush, John and Khalil. After a lot of nerves, lots of odd questions, lots of laughs and the required safety checks we spent the next few hours hanging from the roof. It was wonderful to see the boys grow in confidence as the night went on. Another hit of the night was the contribution by our guest helpers Matt & Elyce. Due to their support and time we were able to extend this opportunity to a larger group of refugee and migrant children. These are the sort of memorable experiences that we believe should be available for any child.  Photos of tonight are online, so please visit the gallery to check them out.

24/7/11 Demons vs. Hawks @ the MCG
DFM introduced Bring a friend day this week as we ventured off to the world famous MCG to watch the Demons take on the Hawks. Ali invited his good friend Mohammad (these friends are more famously known as Mohammad Ali) and David invited his older brother John. It was the very first time any of these boys had attended a game at the MCG. They had all visited the ground on school excursions, but never for an actual match. It was an exciting day; we avoided the rain, there was plenty of music, lots of crazy questions and an overload of laughs. There are some new photos up in the gallery as always, so please check them out. Our appreciation goes out to the Melbourne Demons for inviting DFM along as their guests.

15/7/11 Ambassadors Soccer Camp
The DFM boys had a chance to participate in an Ambassadors Soccer Camp at the Bayswater Indoor Soccer Centre, which was run July 12th – 15th in the second week of the school holidays.  Thanks to DFM we have been able to pick the boys up from their homes in Dandenong and bring them to Bayswater all week, where they have had a chance to socialise with many new friends and sharpen their soccer skills.  We have a new set of photos and videos available in the gallery, plus 4 new soccer stars on the rise! Big shout out to Andrew Farmer for all of his assistance this week.

6/7/11 Website Opening
DFM has been operating since April, but we are now finally online and able to share our great news and photos with everybody thanks to this website. We owe our thanks and appreciation to Clara & Arlen for their hard work in making this website a reality. They have given up many, many hours designing the layout and masterminding the behind the scenes work that is far too technical for Alex or myself. We have backdated all news and photo galleries, so please take your time and browse around the site. Feel free to add us to your links page, or better yet post a link on facebook or twitter so all of your friends are able to come visit us at www.dreamforme.org sometime soon!
Love Tobin & Alex

25/6/11 ‘Spare Change’ tutoring program
Dream For Me had the pleasure of officially launching our ‘Spare Change’ tutoring program. Currently DFM works closely with four families from the Dandenong area. We provide tutoring for these families in the form of home visits, but decided to coordinate our efforts with a joint session. The four boys who participate in our fortnightly excursions have been the focus, but ‘Spare Change’ has been organised to assist all of the children from these families. Nine very generous qualified teachers were able to spare some time, to help make a positive change in the lives of the DFM families. We had children in Prep all the way to a Year 11 VCE student! Each child spent time with their very own teacher, as we focused on skills that would enhance their English abilities. We must thank Narre Warren Library for hosting us, as well as Faber Castel for providing some small gifts for all participating children. Check out the Gallery for more photos from the day.

11/6/11 Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil
For a change of pace, we took the sport loving DFM kids out to Knox City. In the morning we checked out some of the shops Knox has to offer, played some of the arcade games provided at Knox Village Cinema, and then we met up with volunteers Tanya & Siggz. Then it was movie time, and  I actually think the adults enjoyed Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil more than the children! Jean Claude sucked out every last drop of his frozen coke, and we think everyone in the cinema heard him. After the movie we headed into the food court to share some lunch and laughs. The day was so much fun because of the great attitude (as always!) of our guest volunteers. Check out the Gallery for more photos from the day.

31/5/11 Home tutoring
Now that we have become quite acquainted with the families involved in DFM we have discussed different ways which we can be of help. One of those ways is to provide English support for some of the families, as well as assisting some of the children with Maths homework. So now we are going into homes on a regular basis and working with family members to meet their needs, as well as continuing to grow a strong relationship.

28/5/11 Kangaroos vs. Swans
After a late night the night before, it was back to the AFL for DFM. Tuneer, David, Ali and Jean Claude got to sit behind goals as we watched the Roos take on the Swans in a tightly contested match. In the end it was the Swans coming out on top, by just 1 point! Volunteers Shane and Braden (my brother!) did a great job chatting with the guys and once again we managed to grab everyone’s attention on the train ride home. We would like to thank the North Melbourne Kangaroos for supporting us by supplying tickets for the game. Check out the Gallery for more photos from the day.

27/5/11 Demons vs. Blues
It was a cold and rainy Friday night, but with the opportunity to take a couple of kids from Dandenong to their first AFL match at the MCG who were we to say no? We were joined by volunteers Hayden and Clement who helped show the boys how to enjoy a game of Aussie Rules. Dusko and Winis resisted a traditional meat pie at the footy, and instead held out for McDonalds on the way home. Check out the Gallery for more photos from the night.

14/5/11 Storm vs. Raiders
With avid Rugby League fans Jodie & Ben volunteering their time, our trip into the city to see the Storm take on the Raiders was brilliant. The rain gave us a scare, but nothing some brightly coloured ponchos can’t fix! This was the first time the DFM boys had ever attended a Rugby League match in their lives, and they seemed to enjoy the physical nature of the game. A great night topped off with some dinner and laughs, and another fun train ride home. A special thank you to the Melbourne Storm for supplying us with the tickets. Check out the Gallery for more photos from the evening.

1/5/11 Vixens vs. Swifts
Thanks to Netball Victoria we were able to take the DFM boys out to see their first live game of netball. Accompanied by volunteers Alex (big male one, not the little female one!) & Jyselle, we watched the Vixens take on the Swifts in an exciting game. The train ride home proved to be even more entertaining, as the boys made up games to fill in the time. We were also able to hand out some beautiful early Mother’s Day gifts, courtesy of iz & lotte. Check out the Gallery for more photos from the day.

29/4/11 Dream For Me Photoshoot
Finally we got the chance to launch Dream For Me (DFM), a refugee and migrant outreach program based in the City of Greater Dandenong. This project begun out as an idea in 2010, and has now begun in term 2 of the school year after some lengthy planning in term 1. For our first event we decided to take Tuneer, Jean Claude, David and Ali into the city for a couple of photoshoots in Fitzroy and then at the Docklands. We were joined by volunteers Jarryd and Geoff who filmed our evening, and photographers Terry, Clara and Braden. Pizza, photos and people, a great night for all! A big thank you to all involved. Check out the Gallery for more photos from the night.

We hope you stick around for the ride!
Tobin & Alex