Brighten the Future of Immigrant & BIPOC Young People
Dreamday enables immigrant and BIPOC youth to build their own version of the American Dream.
OUR PROGRAM
Dreamday is a small, medium business entrepreneurship incubator with one key difference: the family of the young people receives a stipend in support of their child’s participation.
OUR PARADIGM
Immigrant and BIPOC families are often caught in multiple catch-22’s that keep them from achieving, “The American Dream.”
Children are many times helpers in the family business, not allowing as much time for study or extracurricular activities.
Parents may not have the schedule or the cultural space for “upskilling” and advancing further in their career.
Add in to the mix language barriers, generational conflict, and systemic racism – upward social mobility is out of reach.
“Second generation children of immigrants experience substantial upward mobility relative to their parents but have lower occupational status and employment rates than their non-immigrant peers, for reasons that cannot be fully explained by differences in educational attainment.”
We believe that immigrant and BIPOC youth need time and space to develop their own identity – one that:
- Addresses both the strengths and limitations of their cultural, familial, and economic circumstances.
- Provides a sense of leadership about their own life and achieving upward social mobility.
- Resonates with the digital, diversity, and dreams-based reality of the generation.
We call this a maker-centric orientation to social impact. It presumes that the person is already wanting to make a difference with their life. The support just needs to enable this by addressing downward pressure.
– James J. Kang, Founder of Dreamday
Dreamday is a different kind of accelerator / incubator that:
- Takes a stake in better life outcomes
- Guides towards small, medium business entrepreneurship
- Encourages empathy, inner reflection, and and inter-generational engagement
Our funding will come from partners in venture capital, foundations, financial firms, and other businesses who desire the same.
I grew up helping my parents with our “family business.” Over time, I saw others like me everywhere: in liquor stores in the daytime, offices in the night time, and at vendor carts in the weekends. Eventually, I wondered: how can we work on our own dreams?
– James J. Kang, Head of Revenue and Founder of Dreamday