Yesterday I introduced you to Give Kids The World Village and its founder, Henri Landwirth. Today, I’m going to focus on how children with a life-threatening illnesses gets to the village and what they can expect when they arrive.
A child with a life-threatening illness between the ages of 3 and 18, who wishes to travel to and enjoy the theme parks and attractions in the Central Florida area meets with their doctor first. If the doctor deems the illness life-threatening, the child is put in contact with a wish-granting organization in their area. There are over 250 such organizations around the world, including Make-A-Wish Foundation that sends children and their families to Give Kids The World Village.
The wish-granting organization will determine if the child is approved for their wish and then recommends them to Give Kids The World Village.
Once the child and the family arrive at the resort, this is what they can expect!
• Accommodations on-site in one of 140 villas
• Donated tickets to all three major theme-park resorts (SeaWorld Orlando, Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World)
• Transportation
• Meals in our Gingerbread House Restaurant and Katie’s Kitchen; and ice cream all day in the Ice Cream Palace
• Many other fun surprises (details in Part 3 tomorrow!)
The whole wish vacation is entirely cost-free to the family! Imagine the family that is dealing with their child’s medical issues on a daily basis, as well as the mounting medical bills. For that family to even think of planning and paying for their child’s wish trip would be next to impossible. Give Kids The World Village not only provides the trip of a lifetime, but offers hope to families who very often are losing hope. What they don’t realize is what a blessing the trip will actually be!
I was able to see firsthand how these trips provide solace and some much needed laughter to the families. I think as parents, we tend to take the simple things for granted a lot of times. The laughter. The running around. The jumping on the furniture. The families that I encountered would be more than willing to trade places with any of us. To only have to worry if their child jumped on the furniture or to be able to hear laughter instead of tears. I have always said ‘when I have more money I will help this or that organization’, but what God made me realize last week was that it’s not just about money. I can help. You can help, In so many ways. Yes, they accept donations, but they also love volunteers and they also love people who are willing to share their story with others. That is why I became a GKTW Awareness Angel last week. I want to help make sure that there will not be another Amy who will not see her wish granted.
If you are interested in helping out, please visit www.gktw.org for more information!
