Indian Country Today published an article on January 22, 2016 that discussed some of the successes of the Year 1 Dreamstarters.
Excerpt:
“On October 14, 2014, fifty years to the day since Oglala Lakota runner Billy Mills’s historic gold medal win in the 10,000-meter run, Mills andRunning Strong for American Indian YouthannouncedDreamstarter, a new program to help bring Native youth’s dreams to life. Now, halfway through its first year, Dreamstarter grantees are already winning top national honors and awards.
“Dreamstarter helps young American Indians see themselves transform into champions through the pursuit of a dream,” said Mills, who grew up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, in a press release. “No one believed I could win an Olympic gold medal. It only existed in my dreams. Native youth today struggle with a kind of poverty that robs them of their ability to dream about their future.”
Through the Dreamstarter program, Running Strong will give away fifty $10,000 grants over the next five years to support Native youth’s dreams for their communities. The youth leaders partner with community nonprofits to apply for and implement the programs. At the end of the grant period, Running Strong will choose five projects to be eligible for an additional $50,000 grant. The first group of ten $10,000 awards was announced this spring.”
