Dream on Purpose has continued growing for eight years as the nonprofit sees more students impacted, more partner organizations and more donations.  

This Saturday, the nonprofit will host its eighth annual Dine with Dream on Purpose and officially receive a check for $200,000 from the state of Florida to help fund a brick-and-mortar youth center. State Sen. Keith Perry, R-District 8, pushed for the funding after hearing about the nonprofit’s goal of having a physical youth center by its 10th anniversary in 2025.  

The fixed capital overlay appropriation grant was approved by the governor and signed by the secretary of education in November.  

“I very much accredit that to Senator Keith Perry and his office,” said Shareen Baptiste, president and co-founder of Dream on Purpose. “He came to our annual dinner, which had to be rescheduled and held February 11 of this year, and that was the first time that he essentially learned about our program. . .and fell in love with our mission.” 

The nonprofit empowers young girls to realize their dreams through structured conversations about trending issues and topics. Dream on Purpose also connects these youth with other community organizations to set them up for success and give hope to strive for their goals.  

Baptiste said the check will be the largest the nonprofit has received. She remembered back to the first year that Dream on Purpose participated in the Amazing Give. She said the group earned $200, and she was ecstatic. 

Last year, the nonprofit earned $11,000 from the same event. Attendance at the annual Dine with DOP has also increased year over year, turning from a cost for the nonprofit into a fundraiser. This year’s event will feature Talitha Diggs, an American track and field sprinter who won 2022 NCAA 400-meter championship for UF and recently won the 400-meter event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.  

“With every year, Dream on Purpose continues to grow and to expand on all fronts, so I’m really grateful for that,” Baptiste said.  

Volunteers have risen from the three co-founders—Baptiste, JoAnne Karagnara and Patrice Fletcher—to 13 volunteers working toward the nonprofit’s mission.  

The nonprofit has continued its cornerstone event, Cupcakes and Conversations, and even added to it this year. The city of Gainesville awarded Dream on Purpose a grant through its One Nation One Project initiative, allowing a two-part Cupcakes and Conversations that centered on gun violence.  

The city also awarded a Phase 2 grant for Dream on Purpose to run an eight-week film course in 2024 that will also center on gun violence.  

Baptiste said the organization’s work hasn’t only impacted the youth.  

“I think a lot of the adults in the room realized how much exposure our youth do have to the topic of gun violence,” Baptiste said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are participating in those activities but that it is happening around them and it does have an impact.” 

To reach its dream of a youth center, Baptiste said a lot of work remains. She wants the nonprofit to be financially stable enough to keep the doors to the center open, meaning more fundraising in the next two years.  

Baptiste said she thinks some of the growth has come from others in the community noticing the nonprofit after eight years of consistent work.  

“For the last eight years, we have been moving and operating and making a difference within the greater Gainesville community,” she said. “And I believe that people are seeing more and more of that impact each day.”  

Baptiste said not having a physical location has allowed the nonprofit to move to different areas of the community, servicing everyone. However, she said it’s also hampered their ability to notify people of an event. She said the youth they serve also want a place to call home instead of using different locations for events.  

The growth of Dream on Purpose is also a testament to not sitting on your dream and the need you see in the community, Baptiste said. 

“When you start out with a dream, obviously you start with the end in mind first, right? But then you backtrack it and you start to identify what are the next steps that we need to take towards accomplishing this dream and this vision.”   

She said Dream on Purpose has been taking those next steps and continues reaching toward its dream by teaching and inspiring youth to take the same steps toward their dreams.