Those were the words from recent dream recipient John after he traveled to California from Portland, Maine June 22-27. Following the trip, John's mother reported that he had an awesome experience. John's highlights were:
1. Backstage tour of the studios and to see the many props used in a lot of his favorite shows thanks to the VIP passes.
2. Being able to walk to the front of the line ahead of everyone else. He felt like a real VIP at Universal Studios.
3. Flying! The last time John flew he was a small boy so he couldn't wait to fly.
4. A gorgeous room at the Millennium Biltmore and he loved the valet parking and his door being opened for him every time. "It's nice to be the rich boy," John said.
5. "Drooling" over the houses on Sunset Blvd, along with the many other streets.
6. Walking the Hollywood Walk, trying on hats and taking many pictures with the hands and footprints from celebrities with signatures.
7. Stopping by a cool antique car dealership.
8. Eating at some awesome restaurants.
9. Driving in CRAZY traffic.
10. Riding in a jet ski in the ocean WITH SHARKS for over two hours. The family did not know they could do such a thing!
"I thank you for ALL of this," John's mother said. "Thank you for the wonderful opportunity you gave my son and the wonderful memories we will have forever. Thank you Dream Factory for all that you do for the children and their dreams!"
Friday, July 17, 2015
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Ask Alfred Campaign
MILLENNIUM HOTELS AND RESORTS CELEBRATES
ASK ALFRED’S FIRST BIRTHDAY AND EXPANDS AWARD-WINNING CHILDREN’S PROGRAM
Summer
Program Features Complimentary Breakfast and “I © Alfred”
Placemat Contest
NEW
YORK (June 30, 2015) – More than ever,
kids are taking a larger role in planning family vacations, and Millennium Hotels and Resorts North
America fuels these young guests’ wanderlust wishes with the
award-winning Ask Alfred children’s program. Since its launch on July 10 - National
Teddy Bear Picnic Day - last year, the program’s star namesake Alfred the bear
has brought smiles to youngsters’ faces across the country. From July 10 through September 30, 2015, Ask
Alfred’s first birthday will be celebrated at each of the brand’s 14 hotels with
a complimentary kids’ breakfast menu and “I
© Alfred” coloring contest featuring the
chance to win a two-night hotel stay for the entire family, airfare included.
Alfred the bear is part of a $15 custom-designed
child’s amenity kit in partnership with leading toy company Melissa & Doug® and organic candy maker Surf Sweets®. Families staying at any of
the hotels can surprise little ones with an exclusive cinch bag featuring a
cuddly Alfred Teddy Bear, Surf Sweets®
Gummy Bears, a crayon activity set by Melissa & Doug®,
Alfred’s Lovable Stickables and a dozen collectible Color Me postcards.
This summer, Millennium Hotels
continues its commitment to The Dream
Factory, the second largest
wish-granting organization in the United States, which grants the dreams of
critically and chronically ill children.
Millennium will donate $2 from each amenity sold, with the mission to
match all proceeds to the organization at summer’s end. This pledge follows a
$5,000 donation to The Dream Factory earlier this year.
For young guests aged 12
and under, Millennium’s complimentary breakfast menu offers a selection of
favorites including Scrambled Eggs and French Toast with Maple Syrup. While
dining, kids are invited to decorate their placemat depicting Alfred
celebrating his first birthday and are also encouraged to continue their role
as “vacation planner” by drawing their favorite summer activity. Families can
submit the completed drawing to the hotel for a chance to win a return stay to
Millennium in 2016.
Guests
can take advantage of Ask Alfred by adding it on to the Summer FREEdom package, available through September 7,
with 15 percent off accommodations, up to $50 food and beverage
credit, and complimentary Internet.
No
purchase necessary for contest. Runs from July 10 through 12:00 PM ET September
30. Winners will be selected via a random drawing, taking place at or about
2:00 PM Eastern Time October 30, 2015 from all eligible entries received. Limit one prize per person. Winners will be notified by phone and/or
email.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Watch Dalton Cyr's new show on Amazon!
Dream Factory National Ambassador Dalton Cyr's new show, A History of Radness, has premiered on Amazon and is currently available to view for free! Make sure to watch it, rate it, comment and take the survey, and please SHARE with others.
Click HERE to watch and help support our National Ambassador and The Dream Factory.
Click HERE to watch and help support our National Ambassador and The Dream Factory.
Friday, June 26, 2015
'Your organization is truly making a difference'
From Abby's mother, Jan, following Abby's dream:
"The trip was fantastic and went off as smoothly as it could have gone! It was so awesome to have everything down to the last detail taken care of for us! We were totally overwhelmed from the start; but the extras that Stacie (volunteer from the Louisville Chapter) brought by the night before we left were the icing on the cake! We wore our Dream Factory shirts and our buttons and pins a lot and helped spread the word about your fantastic organization.
"I can't tell you what an amazing thing you are doing for children like Abby and families like ours. While Abby certainly suffers the most from her disease, it is so nice that you all remember that her diagnosis affects each and every member of the family. From the thousands and thousands of dollars for her medication and hospital visits that Michael and I deal with to the simple fact that for the last three years, Matthew has had to sometimes take a 'backseat' when Abby was ill and her needs just had to come first. Life with a chronic illness is so hard in so many ways. What you all are doing is fantastic because it gives the sick child as well as the rest of the family the opportunity to put all that aside, if only for a few days, and focus on fun family time together.
"I heard Abby say more than once on our trip: 'You know, we wouldn't be on this trip if it weren't for me!' It was so nice for her to be the center of attention for the 'right' reasons! She is one of the strongest children I know and is definitely my hero. It is unbelievable to me the grace with which she handles what she must endure.
"Please know how much we appreciate what you did for Abby and our family. Your organization is truly making a difference in the lives of children who deserve to have something positive be centered around them. We are so very humbled by what all you did for us and sincerely thank you again from the bottom of our hearts."
"The trip was fantastic and went off as smoothly as it could have gone! It was so awesome to have everything down to the last detail taken care of for us! We were totally overwhelmed from the start; but the extras that Stacie (volunteer from the Louisville Chapter) brought by the night before we left were the icing on the cake! We wore our Dream Factory shirts and our buttons and pins a lot and helped spread the word about your fantastic organization.
"I can't tell you what an amazing thing you are doing for children like Abby and families like ours. While Abby certainly suffers the most from her disease, it is so nice that you all remember that her diagnosis affects each and every member of the family. From the thousands and thousands of dollars for her medication and hospital visits that Michael and I deal with to the simple fact that for the last three years, Matthew has had to sometimes take a 'backseat' when Abby was ill and her needs just had to come first. Life with a chronic illness is so hard in so many ways. What you all are doing is fantastic because it gives the sick child as well as the rest of the family the opportunity to put all that aside, if only for a few days, and focus on fun family time together.
"I heard Abby say more than once on our trip: 'You know, we wouldn't be on this trip if it weren't for me!' It was so nice for her to be the center of attention for the 'right' reasons! She is one of the strongest children I know and is definitely my hero. It is unbelievable to me the grace with which she handles what she must endure.
"Please know how much we appreciate what you did for Abby and our family. Your organization is truly making a difference in the lives of children who deserve to have something positive be centered around them. We are so very humbled by what all you did for us and sincerely thank you again from the bottom of our hearts."
 |
Friday, June 5, 2015
Message from our National Director and President
The following is a message from Dream Factory National Director Todd Fairbanks and President Daniel Forrest as it appears on page 2 of our 2014 Annual Report. Click here to view the entire Annual Report.
It is a privilege to write this
letter as the new National Director/CEO of The Dream Factory, Inc. I started my
relationship with The Dream Factory’s group of wonderful volunteers in 2009
when I was Executive Director of Something mAAgic Foundation, a nonprofit
foundation made up of American Airlines employees. Ten Dream Factory chapters
participated in “mAAgicflight”, the marquee event of the foundation in which 10
seriously ill children and their families each experienced an unforgettable
vacation in Orlando, Florida. Over the following number of years, I learned
about the hard work and dedication the volunteers at our chapter level invest
daily to fulfill the dreams of children with critical and chronic illnesses.
When I found out that Anne Bunger,
past National Director/CEO, announced her retirement, I was able to pursue a
dream of my own - to be associated with a national organization that does great
things for seriously ill children and their families.
The last seven months have been a
whirlwind of activities. I have been able to meet some great people with huge
hearts and look forward to working with them as we move The Dream Factory into
its next phase of development.
Thank you for your interest in this
wonderful organization and please stay tuned as we grow this organization so we
may help more children with critical and chronic illnesses.
I am excited about the future of the
Dream Factory, and I hope you are as well.
Best regards,
Todd Fairbanks, National Director/CEO
This has been a remarkable year and I
would like to share what an honor it is to serve as the President of the Board
for the Dream Factory, Inc. We are the
preeminent, all-volunteer powered, dream granting organization in the
world. As we move from one fiscal year
to another we do so with a huge milestone of transitioning our National
Director. After 25 years of service, our
previous National Director, Anne Bunger, retired - but not before assisting us
in recruiting our new National Director, Todd Fairbanks. We are very fortunate to have Todd join our
team after a detailed national search. He comes as no stranger. During the past 6 years, The Dream Factory
has been privileged to be part of “mAAgic Flight” and get to know Todd in his
roll with the Something mAAgic Foundation.
We welcome Todd to our Dream Factory family.
In 2014 we celebrate several major
accomplishments. We established a great
partnership with Millennium Hotels and Resorts.
The partnership is part of the award winning Ask Alfred children’s
program launched last summer across 14 Millennium Hotels and Resorts properties
in North America. Since last year, we
have increased our revenue by 13% allowing us to increase our total dreams by
12% (272 dreams). We saw a large boost
in our social media footprint by almost 40%.
For the third consecutive year we have maintained our excellent 4-star
rating with Charity Navigator, the largest evaluator of charities in North
America. Last, but certainly not least,
in September 2014 we saw the formation of The Dream Factory Foundation, Inc., a
public foundation, established exclusively for the purpose of supporting the
programs and mission of The Dream Factory and its local chapters. While they are a separate 501(c)3
organization, we look forward to partnering with them as we take our strategic
planning to the next level.
We greet the coming year with a great
sense of optimism, as we continue the life changing work of granting dreams to
critically and chronically ill children across the US. We look forward to the formation of new
chapters, recruitment of new volunteers and continuing to serve our children
and their families.
Respectfully yours,
Daniel Forrest, President
Monday, May 18, 2015
Welcome our two newest chapters
We're excited to recently announce our two newest chapters to The Dream Factory family! Both of these chapters also give us a presence in two new states, as well.
The Iowa Chapter started in March of this year and hit the ground running, having a representative at our mid-year March Meetings in Louisville. They are located in Cedar Rapids. The contact information for our Iowa Chapter is PO Box 1133, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401; 319-775-0794; iowa@dreamfactoryinc.org. Their chapter website is dreamfactoryinciowa.org.
The Nebraska Chapter started earlier this month (in May) and already has a strong board. They are located in Lincoln. The contact information for this chapter is PO Box 5672, Lincoln, NE 68505; nebraska@dreamfactoryinc.org. Their chapter website is dreamfactoryincneb.org.
With the formation of these two chapters, the Dream Factory now has 34 chapters and is represented in 19 states! Welcome to the Dream Factory our two newest chapters!!!
The Iowa Chapter started in March of this year and hit the ground running, having a representative at our mid-year March Meetings in Louisville. They are located in Cedar Rapids. The contact information for our Iowa Chapter is PO Box 1133, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401; 319-775-0794; iowa@dreamfactoryinc.org. Their chapter website is dreamfactoryinciowa.org.
The Nebraska Chapter started earlier this month (in May) and already has a strong board. They are located in Lincoln. The contact information for this chapter is PO Box 5672, Lincoln, NE 68505; nebraska@dreamfactoryinc.org. Their chapter website is dreamfactoryincneb.org.
With the formation of these two chapters, the Dream Factory now has 34 chapters and is represented in 19 states! Welcome to the Dream Factory our two newest chapters!!!
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