Towards A New Reality

FREE TO DREAM™, along with our friends at American Student Assistance® (ASA), is launching a new campaign… a call to dream. I AM FREE TO DREAM™ is a multi-year national campaign to amplify and build upon the dreams of our next generation. We want to reshape the conversation about educational attainment and career-readiness, and shine a new light on the diversity of pathways a young person may travel toward individual and collective prosperity. This campaign is rooted in the stories of young people and the adults who support them, showcasing a multitude of perspectives about how dreams can transform individuals, communities, and our collective futures. We are especially focused on Opportunity Youth and their communities.

CHANGING THE CONVERSATION I AM FREE TO DREAM™ confronts a challenge in the dominant conversation about preparing youth for the future, one that’s rooted in an old paradigm about “college and career pathways” — one that doesn’t align to our current economy, nor the realities faced by today’s youth. According to research conducted by American Student Assistance® (ASA), the vast majority of young people today say they don’t feel adequately prepared to make decisions about their future. Especially if they’re not following a traditional pathway, they’re struggling to even imagine what’s possible. With a fixation on conventional college degrees and established career tracks, this older paradigm is out of touch. We already know that the “gold watch career” is a relic and was never accessible by the majority of Black and Brown youth. And the college degree is rapidly losing currency (prohibitively high costs and decreasing relevance are two of a myriad of reasons, according to this Forbes report). The older paradigm still indexes various job titles as points of reference for a young person’s career journey, even while reports by Institute for the Future and others tell us that upwards of 85% of future jobs haven’t been invented yet. I AM FREE TO DREAM™ highlights an urgent and unique opportunity — to illuminate numerous pathways and possibilities for our youth, and to shatter the “one-path-fits-all” narrative that has left so many young people excluded from their own potential. We don’t know what the future will look like, but we do know the dreams of this next generation will help create it. So before we talk about their educational and career goals, let’s talk about who they are and what they’re dreaming about. And, let’s talk about our collective role in helping make sure their dreams can come true.

THE DREAM GAP Studies continue to confirm that the opportunities and challenges faced by young people today will heavily impact their long-term futures across a range of outcomes, including health, education, career success, and family wellbeing. This is especially true for nearly 6 million young adults who are disconnected from opportunities in education, employment, and workforce training — a population often referred to as Opportunity Youth.

This disconnection is typically not by choice; it’s imposed by systems, policies and institutions, like inadequate funding for education or public transportation, and inequitable access to affordable housing. These barriers can make a young person’s dream seem completely unattainable. Many of these young people, particularly those who are justice-involved and Black, have felt the multiplied impacts of disconnection — from being locked down during a global pandemic, or locked away in a detention facility, and ultimately being locked out of their own potential. Black youth face an unemployment rate nearly twice that of their white peers — 14.2% versus 7.3% in the first half of 2022. And they’re incarcerated at a rate six times higher than white youth​ (Center for Economic and Policy Research)​​ (Brookings)​​ (The Black Youth Project). These challenges will often exacerbate the sense that their dreams aren’t valuable, or that they don’t have permission to dream at all. HIGH BARRIERS & HIGH HOPES A recent report by Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation gives us reason to hope. It concludes that despite these long standing barriers, youth are facing the future with an unusual degree of optimism: 82% believe they will achieve their goals, 76% agree they have a great future ahead of them, and 66% feel they can obtain their dream job. Even so, fewer than half feel prepared to face their futures, in part because youth who deviate from traditional paths are finding it difficult to imagine what that future could look like.

The Gallup-Walton report also illuminates a precious opportunity: youth who have a caring adult in their lives are more than twice as likely to strongly believe they have a great future ahead of them (51% vs. 23%), and that they will achieve their goals (49% vs. 23%). Youth want to dream big. Reports confirm it. Now it’s up to us to help them understand the enormity of what’s possible. Otherwise, we’re at risk of deferring the dreams of an entire generation. “Bring me all of your dreams,

You dreamers,

Bring me all of your

Heart melodies…” We are enlisting adults to take on the role of “Dream Keeper,” a title inspired by the Langston Hughes poem of the same name—adults who will commit to helping young people imagine what’s possible for their futures, unlock their dreams, and guide them on their unique journeys toward prosperity. Teachers and counselors, community leaders and volunteers, parents and caregivers— adults from all walks of life. Let’s work together to amplify and build upon those dreams for a just and joyful future. INTRODUCING THE I AM FREE TO DREAM™ Together with Common and American Student Assistance® (ASA), FREE TO DREAM™ is leading the I AM FREE TO DREAM™ campaign to showcase the multitude of pathways young people may take to pursue their dreams and realize their potential. We’ve shared at the outset of this letter that a fundamental goal of this campaign is to reshape the national conversation about future-readiness. We want to change the narrative about what that future could look like, and how we help young people not just prepare for, but create that future. We want to make sure this next generation is ready to build the world they hope for and to thrive within it. We want to empower all young people, especially Opportunity Youth, to embrace their freedom to dream. COMPONENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN As the campaign unfolds, we will distribute a wealth of free resources to support schools, caregivers, and youth-centered organizations—all the myriad of Dream Keepers who answer the call—and of course, the youth themselves. These resources will include: Inspirational Stories & Content: We will curate, produce, and distribute inspiring content that amplifies youth voices and their stories, centering on their dreams for a just and joyful future, and the diverse journeys they travel on the way. These stories will include short form video, podcasts, blogs, and other content featuring perspectives from youth, their communities, and the adults who support them. This content will be released through multiple channels and network partners, and we hope it’ll be used in classrooms, gatherings, and other educational and inspirational settings. Look out for:

• Stories of youth navigating a wide range of diverse pathways toward prosperity, exploring unconventional careers and career journeys, and redefining success on their own terms

• Stories of mentors and the communities helping guide these young people, showcasing how supportive relationships can unlock potential

• Spotlights on cultural leaders, artists and celebrities to showcase their own unique pathways and how their freedom to dream played a pivotal role in shaping their successes

Educational Resources: We will build a growing bank of free educational resources, including activities, toolkits, and a growing library of specially curated materials to engage youth in explorations of their potential and possible futures. Key materials include:

• Toolkits that ignite a young person’s creativity and imagination, helping unlock their belief in what’s possible for themselves and their communities

• Resources and workshops that connect youth to national and international goals (such as UN’s Sustainable Development Goals), where their dreams can play a key role in addressing a wide variety of themes, challenges, and hopes for the future

• Lessons that explore how our dreams have the power to activate new jobs, new technologies and new ways of being and living in the world

Regional Activations: Dream Summits will be held in key cities including Chicago and Los Angeles, bringing young people together from diverse backgrounds to participate in interactive workshops, panel discussions, and creative exhibits. Through immersive activities, skill-building sessions, and mentorship opportunities, youth will be empowered to unlock their dreams, create pathways, and connect with a supportive network of peers and mentors who will help them navigate their journeys. Key components of the Dream Summit are:

• Playbooks for communities and our growing network of Dream Keepers, to convene their own events modeled after the first summits planned in Chicago and Los Angeles

• Communities of practice that will form to support Dream Keepers as they engage youth in meaningful activities in their own communities

WHAT'S NEXT? Over the next few months, as the 2024–2025 school year commences, we’ll be sharing more about this campaign, introducing some of the first stories and resources, and more about the upcoming Dream Summits and how you can host one in your community.

We’ll also be showcasing the people and organizations informing our work: people like Kara May, founding principal of Art in Motion charter school in Chicago (which opened in 2019 just a few blocks from where Common grew up); and organizations like the Dallas-based nonprofit, Big Thought, using immersive and creative learning to close the opportunity gap for youth.

And we will be introducing our first cohort of Dream Keepers, like Conservation Nation in Washington D.C., working to create a more inclusive and diverse community of young wildlife champions. They’re using immersive and awe-inspiring natural settings to help unlock youth dreams for an ecologically diverse and vibrant planet. HOW CAN YOU JOIN? Become a Dream Keeper. We hope the resources of this campaign will help you engage the young people in your world—help them explore their boundless potential, envision what’s possible for their future, and travel the journey to make their dreams come true.

We are also enlisting campaign sponsors, content contributors, regional partners and storytelling collaborators. To support or participate in this campaign, say hello at hello@iamfreetodream.com.

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