Dream Team Is Dedicated To Mentoring At-Risk Youth Helping Them To Accomplish Goals

[Leader] Everywhere we go.

[Team] Everywhere we go.

[Leader] People want to know.

[Team] People want to know.

[Leader] Who we are.

[Team] Who we are.

[Leader] So we tell them.

[Team] So we tell them.

[Leader] We are the Dream Team.

[Team] We are the Dream Team.

[Leader] The mighty, mighty Dream Team.

[Team] The mighty, mighty Dream Team.

[Carlos] I thought a week away from my parents would be like an absolute miracle.

It was just like more opportunities. More friendship.

And a meaning of who you are and what you can do in the future.

[Caleb Christiansen] Last year before I started I was very lost and I didn't really find my people at all. For a long time I just used video games as a way for me to try and cope with that.

(Cheering)

Then when I started riding the bikes, I started slowly realizing that exercise helps get rid of anxiety and stress.

(Applause)

[Perla Zaragoza] All I heard was he's going to be gone for a week and do a bike ride across Iowa, and I said, who's going to take care of him?

[Scott] The Dream Team is an all volunteer nonprofit organization that mentors youth. Put the final touches on. Get that final touches. Let's get ready. We provide everything for our youth.

Our season each year goes from March through RAGBRAI at the end of July, and we started with 60 kids this year, and they train during those five months to do RAGBRAI. When they come to us, a lot of them, their longest ride is 2 or 3 miles. We even have a lot of kids don't know how to bike at all.

[Carlos Lindberg] I was so scared I didn't know anyone.

[Scott] What makes Dream Team special is our process. All of our time is focused on cycling, but that's not what we're really about. Our mentors, they're good at helping them bike, but more importantly, they're good at just helping them gain self-confidence. They're patient with them and they take them through it and they help them get better every week.

[Randy Collins] I don't really have a lot of friends. I'm more of a quiet keep to myself, kid. Or at least was. There's new experiences almost every ride. It's a lot of fun. There's a bunch of activities. You get to go camping. But you also got to bike 500 miles across the state of Iowa.

(Applause)

[Scott] By the time we get to RAGBRAI they are some of the best cyclists amongst the 30,000 people that are out there riding across the state of Iowa.

[Inez Chavez] My older brother was like, I don't think you'll be able to do it because you're into like such girly things. It kind of made me second guess myself. And then I was like, oh, well, maybe he's right. It's not as hard as it seems when you have the right people leading you and guiding you. It definitely makes it a lot easier.

[Scott] Our dream team kids are well known on RAGBRAI. Every mile of RAGBRAI, many people are cheering for them.

(Cheering)

People help us at every step of the way.

[Inez] We have so many supporters with us and it's just really surreal because they're just like chanting us on and we're like, wow, we have so many supporters there that are also part of our family that we didn't know were a part of our family.

[Caleb] And I found people who actually accepted who I am and not trying to change me. And the people in the community are awesome. They will help me if I need help. My mind gets to turn off when I ride the bike.

[Carlos] As I went deeper into this season of Dream Team, I realized it was just more than a week away from my parents.  It's my goal to ride RAGBRAI and complete it and actually find out who I really am.

[Inez] And we all have our hard days, but we all push each other to do the best we can, and that's really helped a lot, just having a great community.

[Scott] There's no better feeling than knowing that you're helping some teen change their life in a way that's going to allow them to go on a whole different path that they didn't even think was possible. And that's pretty fulfilling.

[Carlos] It's more than just a bike. I know that they love me and I love them too.

[Scott] We can celebrate together. We can cry together. We go through every emotion that you can, and they're really good at supporting each other. What we're really trying to give them a blueprint for, that they accomplish those big dreams.

[Perla] Everything they built. It's amazing. I knew that I wanted all my kids to be part of it, because I know that when I drop off one kid for that season, I know I'm going to get a better version by the end of the season because they have learned to to believe in themselves.

[Carlos] I love the sights. It's beautiful. It's really hard going up some of those hills, but I wouldn't change my mind.

[Caleb] I've actually accepted myself as a good person now. I know how to deal with social anxiety better. I don't really talk bad about myself anymore because I'm not allowed to. I'm not allowed to hate on myself.

[Carlos] I feel like my confidence has grown. There's something I can say that I've done and be proud of. [birds chirping]

[Inez] Taught me that I can do hard things and that I should believe in myself way more. When you have the right mindset, you can do a lot more things than you think you can.