Community Eventssss — Salem Dream Center

Easter Party

For the past 17 years we’ve held an Easter Party for the community. An average of 200 people attend.We don’t hold an Easter Egg hunt, instead each child receives one dozen hard boiled eggs that they get to decorate, something few if any would do at home. They also receive a bag with Easter grass, candy, a journal, a bracelet/wrist band and more. We use Resurrection Eggs to tell the story of Easter and at the end children can get a graphic style Bible, or a NIV Bible.

Click to watch Easter Party Video

Summer Fiesta

Each Summer just before school begins we hold a Fiesta for the community, complete with street taco’s, red rice, frijoles, salsa and chips. The children play games, and play in a crazy big bounce house. In past years we’ve topped the Fiesta off with a star viewing party where a local astronomers club bring their powerful telescopes. It’s a fun way to end the summer and launch into school.

Dream Tree

Dream Tree is a 18 year old Salem Tradition. Every fall we interview children to learn their Christmas wishes. Those wishes are then presented to generous people who adopt one or more children for Christmas. For 96% of the children, the gifts they receive from Dream Tree, are the only gifts they will find under their tree on Christmas morning. Dream Center make sure every child receives exactly what they’ve asked for, even if they aren’t adopted, and every year children are blessed with beautifully wrapped gifts, delivered by Santa, who arrives in Edgewater with an official police escort.

Christmas Party

One of our Dream Center Alumni had a dream to have a Christmas winter wonderland where all the families could come together to celebrate Christmas. Urban Grange Coffee & Bakery generously donated use of their shops after hours. Families were greeted by Randy and Rebecca and staff with hot chocolate and warm cookies as soon as they walked in. Santa was there with one of his favorite elves, ready to have a photo taken with the children, and the entire family. There were games, raffles and a beautiful time singing Christmas Carols.

Operation Sneaky Elf

Operation Sneaky Elf is a 18 year old tradition where on Christmas Morning between 30 to 75 Sneaky Elves go through the neighborhood at 3:30am on Christmas Morning delivering a gift bag filled with Christmas cookies and a note saying Merry Christmas, God loves you and so do we. For many in the low income neighborhood these cookies will be their only treat on Christmas, for others who wait up to greet their Sneaky Elves every year, that Sneaky Elf is the only human contact they will have on Christmas. Every year we hear how that simple gift bag of cookies impacted someone, how it made a Christmas special. Sometimes it’s the simple things that matter the most.

Harvest Party

Over the years we’ve taken as many as 375 children and their parents to visit the pumpkin patch. We’ve also held a party at Nuestra Casa, with games, dinner and a movie. We’ve distributed halloween costumes to children and every child leaves with a bag filled with candy, toys and other exciting things.