Organizations, businesses, and individuals choose Dreams Take Flight, because the reward is undeniable.
Children with challenges don’t see opportunities. Medical, mental, physical, social or emotional barriers get in the way.
A trip-of-a-lifetime changes that by opening their minds to possibility.
From a volunteer, after her first flight in 2018: I embarked on the most incredible journey! I knew it would be life changing but I didn’t know to what extent. On Wednesday we took 156 deserving children to Disneyland! It was exhausting and fun, and a little bit crazy, but it was worth every second! At the end of the day, one volunteer said “today we changed the lives of 156 kids” and in that moment I had never felt more proud, not just for myself, but for every volunteer that puts in all of the hours to make dreams happen. My all time favourite moment would be when we were on the buses headed back to the airport and this little boy sitting next to me was fast asleep, cuddling his little stuffed Piglet and all I could think was “wow, he just had one of the best days of his life and I was lucky enough to be a part of it.”
A few years ago, we had a child that arrived at orientation day, very shy and quiet. This little girl said to a volunteer dressed as Cinderella: “I really like you, but I wish Cruella De Vil was here instead”. The volunteer was a bit taken aback because most children don’t want to meet the villain.
It just so happened this little girl ended up being on that volunteers team. She was very quiet and seemed a little nervous on the bus ride to the park, but when asked what she was most excited about, the little girl said, “I really just want to meet Cruella De Vil!” Upon arriving at the park, the team first needed a bathroom break, which turned out to be a blessing because when they walked out of the bathrooms, there she stood, Cruella De Vil, a rare sighting.
The little girl stood in shock and they of course got in line to meet her! After all the group photos were taken, Cruella De Vil pulled this little girl off to the side and asked her if she would like to be her apprentice when she grows up, to which the little girl replied, “I can’t”. Cruella De Vil then asked, “well why not” and the little girl stated that it was because she wasn’t good enough. There was a moment of silence, and then Cruella De Vil said “You can be anything you want to be when you grow up. If you can dream it, you can do it”. After that moment, the little girl was beaming all day long, and that was a moment none of us will ever forget.