STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
I Have a Dream Foundation-Idaho has officially changed its name.
It’s now “Far + Wise,” the idea being going far in life and becoming wise.
The change was precipitated by the fact that the Wood River Valley chapter has been expanding its programs far beyond the scope of the national organization.
“This is much more than a name change,” said Ken Lewis, who founded I Have a Dream Foundation-Idaho. “This is about becoming independent from the national organization. Our director, Laura Rose-Lewis, has taken the program far beyond any I Have a Dream program I’ve heard of, creating trade camps for the students and taking part in SummerBridge.”
Free from the national requirements, the program will expand to offer vocational job training to support student and local business needs and create other relevant programs for Blaine County.
I Have a Dream Program started with a promise to third-graders at Alturas Elementary School that they would be offered college tuition if they graduated from high school The program also offered tutoring support and cultural enrichment.
One hundred percent of the students who were originally tapped graduated in 2022, and many have gone on to college.
Now, I Have a Dream Foundation is having children whose families cannot afford college apply to be part of the program. It also has expanded offers leadership programs for high school students and summer programs to enable students to make up credits that so they don’t fall behind their class.
“Laura is doing a phenomenal job and we have a wonderful board that includes Brent and Beverly Robinson and Jacob Greenberg,” said Lewis.
Lewis also founded an I Have a Dream chapter in Portland, Ore., where he worked in business before retiring to Sun Valley. One of the students involved with that program went to Harvard Law School and is now a professor. Another went to Stanford University and George Washington Medical School and is now a psychiatrist and associate professor at Harvard.
“They were focused--we just gave them a little push,” said Lewis. “The main thing all these children have to learn is that we all create our own future, and we’re giving them a variety of opportunities to help them do that.”