U.S. Dream Academy – IBOs, IBOAI, Amway Global Support Children

IBOAI Helps U.S. Dream Academy Raise $600,000 to Support Children

• The IBOAI Difference
• Frequently Asked Questions

The IBOAI is proud to support the U.S. Dream Academy, which raised more than $600,000 at its 8th annual “Power of a Dream Gala” on May 21. IBOs with the support of Amway Global and the IBOAI contributed $77,000! The IBOAI sponsored a table and MarkerMan Productions sponsored two at the Gala, which raises funds for its nationally recognized non-profit after-school program dedicated to breaking the cycle of incarceration and poverty through an academic, social, and emotional skill-building curriculum for children.

The U.S. Dream Academy serves more than 1,000 children of incarcerated parents – and other youth who have fallen behind in school – at its learning centers in 10 communities with high imprisonment and poverty rates: Baltimore, East Orange, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Memphis, Orlando,

The U.S. DreamKids – The Dream Academy Choir, composed of children enrolled in the Academy Centers across the U.S. – entertain with song.
The U.S. DreamKids – The Dream Academy Choir, composed of children enrolled in the Academy Centers across the

U.S. – entertain with song.

Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC (two learning centers). The U.S. Dream Academy’s goal is to double the number of at-risk youth they serve by 2012.

Wintley Phipps, U.S. Dream Academy Founder and CEO, thanks his guests for helping him turn dreams into a reality.

Several IBOs attended the Gala, among them Steve and Marcia Victor, Joe and Kelli Victor, Jere and Rochelle Dutt, Lee and Cindy Hurst, and James and April Rudo. They joined big names from entertainment and politics for a very special evening.

Among the stars headlining the gala were Academy Award-winning actor Lou Gossett, Jr., Academy Award-nominated actress (Curious Case of Benjamin Button) Taraji P. Henson, Essence Magazine Editor-in-Chief Emeritus and National CARES Mentoring Movement founder Susan L. Taylor, MTV Award-winning comedian-actor Chris Tucker, and Grammy Award-winning vocalist-producer BeBe Winans.

Gala co-chairs U.S. Senators John Ensign of Nevada and Mark L. Pryor of Arkansas, along with Congresswomen Maxine Waters and Diane Watson of California and Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen

and his wife Janet Langhart Cohen, were among the 500 attendees who joined U.S. Dream Academy President and CEO Wintley Phipps to honor three individuals who have shown by example the positive results of following your dreams and serving as role models for at-risk youth:

Actor Lou Gossett, Jr. was the recipient of the U.S. Dream Academy’s 2009 Legacy Award.
Actress and Washington, D.C., native Taraji P. Henson was presented with the 2009 President’s Award.
LDS Business College dean of academic outreach Keith Poelman was honored as 2009 Mentor of the Year for his volunteer service at the U.S. Dream Academy’s learning center in Salt Lake City.

Chris Tucker and WJLA (ABC, Washington) television news anchor Cynné Simpson emceed the program that featured moving musical performances by Wintley Phipps, BeBe Winans, and the U.S. Dream Academy “DreamKids Choir” comprised of children from Washington, DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia who are benefiting from its after-school programs.

Essence Magazine Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Susan L. Taylor provided a powerful keynote speech that focused on reasons she started the National CARES Mentoring Movement, which is a massive campaign to recruit one million able and stable Black adult mentors to work with at-risk youth across the United States. Ms. Taylor called for urgent action by every individual and government at all levels to save children who are most at risk of a life of incarceration and poverty.

The U.S. Dream Academy’s proven-effective after-school program combines academic tutoring, one-to-one

Arriving at the Ritz Carlton Hotel for the Gala are IBOs Jere and Rochelle Dutt, Lee and Cindy Hurst, Marcia and Steve Victor, Kelli and Joe Victor, and April and James Rudo.
Arriving at the Ritz Carlton Hotel for the Gala are IBOs Jere and Rochelle Dutt, Lee and Cindy Hurst, Marcia and Steve Victor, Kelli and Joe Victor, and April and James Rudo.

mentoring and character development, to help at-risk youth develop positive dreams for their futures and to show them career paths and life choices that will give them fulfilling and productive lives.

IBOs fill tables sponsored by the IBOAI and MarkerMan Productions.

"We know that a child who dreams big can change the world," said U.S. Dream Academy Executive Director C. Diane Wallace Booker. “That is why our first priority is to raise children's self esteem, and to provide mentors who shower our children with love and positive reinforcement and encourage them to live out their dreams while finding their own voice and path in life."

For more information about the U.S. Dream Academy and how to support its life-changing and lifesaving after-school programs, please visit: www.usdreamacademy.org.

The U.S. Dream Academy’s 8th annual “Power of a Dream Gala” was supported by national sponsors USA Funds, Amway Global and the Good Things Happen Foundation, and by many other organizations and individuals who are listed on the U.S. Dream Academy website.

Also see past articles covering IBOAI support of the U.S. Dream Academy.

IBOs Steve and Marcia Victor meet actress Taraji P. Henson (center), winner of the U.S. Dream Academy’s President’s Award.

IBOs Kelli and Joe Victor meet actor Louis Gossett, Jr. (center),

winner of the U.S. Dream Academy’s Legacy Award.

IBOs Marcia and Steve Victor attend the Gala with IBOs Bill and Diane Ming, who serves on the U.S. Dream Academy Board of Directors.
IBOs Lee and Cindy Hurst meet comedian- actor Chris Tucker

(center), co-emcee for the Gala.

IBOs Marcia and Steve Victor attend the Gala with IBOs Bill and

Diane Ming, who serves on the U.S. Dream Academy Board of Directors.

IBOAI News

IBOAI Helps U.S. Dream Academy Raise $600,000 to Support Children