Making dreams come true for 45 years & counting!

In 1981, businessman Eugene M. Lang returned to P.S. 121, the elementary school he attended in East Harlem 50 years earlier, to speak to a class of graduating sixth graders.

He planned to deliver a simple message: "Work hard and you'll succeed." But moments before taking the stage, the principal shared a heartbreaking reality—three-quarters of the students would never graduate from high school.

Lang tore up his prepared remarks.

Instead, he told the students about standing among the thousands who heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C. Inspired by that moment, he challenged the students to dream big and promised to do everything he could to help them achieve those dreams. Then, in an extraordinary act of faith, he pledged to pay the college tuition of every sixth grader who stayed in school and graduated high school.

That spontaneous promise sparked a movement that became The "I Have A Dream" Foundation.

More than four decades later, that promise continues to transform lives. The "I Have A Dream" Foundation has served 20,000 Dream Scholars through more than 200 programs, providing long-term academic support, mentoring, social-emotional learning, college and career readiness, family engagement, and postsecondary success services that help young people thrive from elementary school through college and into meaningful careers.

Today, we continue that legacy making a long-term commitment to children and their families, walking alongside them from 'first grade to first job', providing the academic support, mentoring, enrichment opportunities, and encouragement they need to realize their dreams.

Now is the perfect time to make an impact.

One promise changed the lives of a classroom in East Harlem. Today, your gift can help make that same promise to a new generation of children and families.

Join us and help every child dream bigger, achieve more, and build a brighter future.

Want to donate via ACH or stock transfer? Email development@ihaveadreamfoundation.org for more information.

Building Futures