"We envision a welcoming, friendly, and helpful community of support for Dream Act students at UCSC, ensuring them an excellent university experience, a more just place in American society, and a path forward toward their life and career aspirations." - Dreamweavers
Founded in January, 2012 to support Dream Act students at University of California at Santa Cruz. In 2011, after years of debate, t
he California Legislature passed The Dream Act and Governor Brown signed it into law. For The first time, it made undocumented immigrant students who graduated from California high schools and attended for at Ieast three years eligible for privately funded financial aid. These students are now eligible for California public grants as of January 2013. The Dreamweavers Society, founded in 2011, brings together volunteers (many of whom are UCSC alums), UCSC staff and faculty, and UCSC Dream Act students in the Monterey Bay area to provide those students with a supportive, cross-generational community and to reach out to precollege undocumented immigrant youths to help them see a path forward toward a UCSC education. We have four smaller subgroups: Mentor/Mentees, Outreach, Housing, and Fundraising. The Mentor/Mentees group provides opportunities for volunteers and students to pair up and explore what the individual student's needs are and try to help meet them (research and networking around a particular career, connections around potential internship opportunities, talking through various life challenges that come up and how to do deal with them, or just having a meal or coffee together). The Outreach Team will extend our work to students who are in high schools and community colleges around the county, helping to make sure school staffs know what resources are available for Dream Act students at UCSC, and creating special opportunities for students to get to campus and meet with Dream Act students. The Housing Team recognizes that the high cost of living in Santa Cruz County is a substantial barrier to students wanting to attend UCSC. This team has helped locate and secure off-campus houses, works to provide on-campus housing whenever possible, and to make sure students have a safe and secure place to live. Working with UCSCS development team to raise money for scholarships for these students, the Fundraising Team holds fundraising events which highlight the injustice and inequity of current financial aid limitations for students who are attending UCSC. Everywhere we go and talk about Dreamweavers, people want to get involved, moved by what they learn, and they want to help. To learn more or get involved, contact Rose Filicetti at [email protected]
