D.T. Dream Team, Inc. Focused on Empowering Rural Communities
A new nonprofit organization called D.T. Dream Team, Inc., is continuing a program that was launched last year in Southeast Georgia to facilitate rural development and community empowerment. The organization’s purpose can be summed up in its slogan: “Creating Opportunities for the Underprivileged with Hopes of Bringing Dreams to Life.”
The endeavor was initiated by partners Dr. Dondrea L. Geter and Marcus Stanley, both Wheeler County natives and 1999 graduates of Wheeler County High School. As teenagers, Geter and Stanley had a vision of one day starting something great to give back and empower the rural counties and communities in the area. Both individuals are excited about the future and to finally see their vision come true.
The nonprofit organization will be spearheading several projects in the near future that will promote community enhancement and revitalization, educational and economic awareness, financial and credit literacy, post-secondary options for students after high school, leadership skills, and real estate renovation and repair for citizens of low-economic status.
D.T. Dream, Inc., plans to continue the implementation of the Rural Housing Preservation Program, headed by the Rural Housing Service, Department of Agriculture (USDA), which will start in October of 2024. This program will be put into place in rural areas for the repair or rehabilitation of housing owned or occupied by low-and very low-income citizens. The program will focus on the following rural counties: Wheeler, Treutlen, Montgomery, Telfair, and Toombs. Citizens must apply for free renovations or repairs at their residences and must meet certain income requirements to qualify for participation in the program.
Services will include the repairing or replacement of foundations, roofs, insulation, electrical wiring, heating systems, and water and waste disposal systems. These improvements may also include but are not limited to painting, paneling, floor covering, improving clothes closets or shelving, kitchen cabinets, air conditioning, and landscape plantings. The program will include installing features to address mobility or other accessibility needs, as well as the labor and materials for any renovation or repair.
The HPG funds may not be used to assist in the construction or completion of an addition or new dwelling; to refinance any debt obligated by the grantee, the individual homeowner, or owner of a rental property; nor to repair or rehabilitate any property located in the Coastal Barrier Resources System.
Leading up to this program in the fall of 2024, D.T. Dream Team, Inc., would like to hear feedback from the citizens about the benefit of the program as a whole and whether or not a project of this caliber would be welcomed in the focused rural areas selected. To give suggestions, concerns, or feedback, contact Geter or Stanley at area code 478-595-8622 or email at dondreag@gmail. com.
