West Orange Dream Center to host biggest fundraiser of the year

The West Orange Dream Center is hosting its Dream Big annual fundraiser Saturday, Nov. 8 to raise $150,000 in one night to support its programs. 

Administrative Manager Kim Wright said this is the center’s biggest fundraiser of the year, and it is critical in keeping its doors open because the center is a 100% donor-supported organization. 

Opened in 2021 as a hub for nonprofits and ministries, the West Orange Dream Center connects community members with resources to empower them and break the cycle of poverty to build brighter futures. 

“We love being able to partner with different groups to do that,” Wright said. “That’s really why it’s important for us to keep this place right here in Winter Garden.” 

The fundraiser will fund programs including employment coaching, GED and high school diploma tutoring, free educational classes, grief shares and narcotics anonymous groups. 

Chloe Johnson, a Winter Garden commissioner and founder of the I AM HER W.E.M. ministry that meets at the center, said the nonprofit is important to her and the community. 

“I started my ministry at home in my living room in 2019, and it started with 11 women,” she said. “When my ministry grew — (more than) 60-plus women — it outgrew my home every month. I was introduced to the Dream Center, and they believed in my mission to serve women walking in their true destiny, and it was (within) walking distance.” 

More than that, Johnson said the Dream Center gives under-resourced communities hope and makes them feel included. 

“We offer the practical help but we also provide the gospel,” Wright said. “We show people that they’re valued and they’re loved.”

As a spiritual woman and a believer of helping neighbors, Johnson said she always will support the Dream Center and its mission. 

The fundraiser will feature speakers, live entertainment, live music and dinner from Carrera’s Fresh Italian. 

Wright said she is most excited about a poem written specifically for the event by the Be Still Institute, a nonprofit created to create and cultivate the Kingdom of God. 

The center also will hold online and live auctions featuring services, products and experiences. 

“If people can’t attend, we have a Rooted campaign where we’re asking 100 people to give $1,000 each, and that would cover all of our rent and utilities for all of 2026,” Wright said. “That would be a huge blessing, and it would enable us to focus on programs and community needs.” 

In 2026, the center plans to bring the Men of Iron nonprofit to the Historic East Winter Garden Neighborhood to mentor teen boys. 

It also will be bringing faith-based life skills for high schoolers and computer coding. 

“I started here as a volunteer a couple of years ago, and God has given me a heart for this community,” Wright said. “What I love is that we offer a variety of programs to a variety of ages.” 

That’s a feeling shared by Johnson, as well. 

“I had an event called Hats Off To You, and it was for me to just acknowledge and appreciate women, young and old, who made impactful moments in the community,” she said. “No matter the generation, we were all in the room inspiring one another, getting advice from one another. To me, it just makes me know that no matter your age or no matter where the walk you have walked in life, we are all here and we can all learn from one another. That happened right at the Dream Center.”