History & Mission

History

After working closely with a low income single mother and her daughter, Founder Janine Lee witnessed firsthand the financial hardships and daily struggles that low income families commonly face. As a high school student, she provided what she could by offering free babysitting services to help alleviate the financial burden. However, Janine challenged herself to find a better outlet to improve opportunities for disadvantaged youth and to provide a more promising future.

At the age of 21, Janine Lee began participating in pageants to advocate her platform. Through reacquaintance with an old friend who was active in the nonprofit community, Janine discovered how to bring her passion to life. Capture the Dream, Inc. was founded as a non-profit organization aimed at improving the community, one individual and one dream at a time and officially registered with the Secretary of State, California on July 7th, 2006.

Logo

The logo of Capture the Dream, Inc., the Dreamcatcher, embodies the function of the organization. The Ojibway, a tribe of Native Americans, traditionally crafted dreamcatchers by bending a piece of willow wood into a hoop, weaving an ornate net within it, and garnishing it with beads and feathers. According to Native American legend, the dreamcatcher was hung above the bed of children as a charm to protect them from nightmares. The web would catch the bad dreams, while the good dreams passed through the center hole and trickled down the feathers. Eventually, the bad dreams would evaporate on the web during the light of the dawn.

Vision

No dream is too big to achieve. Every student, regardless of family income, will have access to the financial support and resources necessary to achieve their educational aspirations and career ambitions.

Mission

Our mission is to provide low income individuals with the financial support, resources, and opportunities to develop, realize, and achieve their long-term educational and career goals. CTD invigorates these efforts through such events as micro-funding grants, college scholarships, backpack school supply drives, and mentorship programs. Through this Dream Movement, we provide stepping stones to support these passionate individuals through a journey of achievement to ultimately attain their goals.