Celebrating 25 years of D.R.E.A.M.S. at St. Mary's

Maria Montemayor

Monday, April 15, 2024

Image courtesy of Don Hall

“The commitment, sacrifice, passion and generosity of our St. Mary’s D.R.E.A.M.S. students and chaperones never cease to amaze me!”

- Don Hall, Chaplaincy Leader

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the D.R.E.A.M.S. program at St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario. The D.R.E.A.M.S. (Dominican Republic Education and Medical Support) program is an immersive experience coordinated by ADESJO (Association for the Development of San José de Ocoa).

Students and chaperones in the D.R.E.A.M.S. program spend a week living in remote villages and helping out with various projects like building a house or laying down pipes. The students live, work, pray, reflect, and eat together, and also have opportunities to socialize with other volunteers and locals. It’s a beautiful experience for the students and chaperones.

In 2017, I had the privilege of joining the D.R.E.A.M.S. team as a chaperone. It was wonderful building a house with the students, attending Mass together, and seeing them play with the local kids. Some of the female students even helped with cooking meals. After the trip, I ended up seeing some of the students at the March for Life rally in Ottawa.

Over 60 families have been impacted by the work of D.R.E.A.M.S. In addition to building houses, they also helped build a school and a teacher’s residence. This year, they worked on building a house in Los Corozos.

Image courtesy of Don Hall

To celebrate this milestone anniversary, they will be hosting a gala event on Friday, May 3, 2024 at St. Thomas the Apostle Church Hall in Waterdown, Ontario. The gala includes a meal (vegetarian option available), live music, a silent auction, and a cash bar. Doors to the parish hall open at 5:30 pm and dinner starts at 6:30 pm.

You can purchase tickets here. They also accept cheques made out to St. Mary's DREAMS. Funds raised will be used for construction materials as well as financially supporting the travel expenses of the students.

I am amazed that they have had this program for 25 years now, and I hope that they will continue to have this program for many more years to come!

To learn more about the D.R.E.A.M.S. experience, listen to Deacon Pedro's conversation with two student participants, Maddie Leung and Martina Chaulk and School Chaplain Don Hall, on the June 8, 2024 edition of the SLHour.