Dreams Come True

Dreams Come True - A national charity with a local heart!

It is with immense pleasure that we are featuring Dreams Come True as our 'Featured Charity' for the remainder of 2007. As many of you will already be aware, we have had the privelege of working with this fantastic bunch of people to bring you The Dreams Weekend in Lymington on the 8th & 9th December 2007 and help them realise their ongoing commitment to provide a wish for a seriously or terminally ill child at least every day of the year. Your help really does go directly to bringing a ray of sunshine for a while to children and parents who have had a pretty difficult time and provide happy memories which are irreplaceable.

All children have dreams, but how many get the chance to turn their dream into reality? For every child this would be a magical moment in their lives, but for those suffering from a life-threatening illness or a long-term debilitating condition, it can have an even greater impact.

Each year the Dreams Come True Charity brings a smile to the faces of hundreds of children and young adults between 2 and 21 years who are suffering from a serious or terminal illness. We aim to bring some happiness into their lives, the benefits of which are many and varied for both the children and their families

Popular requests include experiencing the magic of Disney and swimming with dolphins. But any dream is shaped by a child's imagination and special needs, leading to a seemingly endless range of possibilities. Some of the more 'unusual' dream requests we have recently fulfilled include having cows in the back garden, meeting long-lost relatives in Kenya and Jamaica, naming a police horse, and riding in a rally car.

Other dreams are less adventurous but just as special, for example, having a specially adapted bed which can improve quality of life, or a TV or music centre for a bedroom where the children spend a lot of their time. We have even had a request for a special children's tricycle enabling him to keep up with his friends playing outside. But for some children it's simpler things in life that make their dream come true - a trip to Butlins and the seaside, or even for one little boy, the chance to see bananas growing on a real tree.

There is no limit to a child's imagination and severe illness should not prevent them from experiencing real quality fun and excitement.   No dream is too big or too small for Dreams Come True.

THE CHARITY

• Dreams Come True is a National UK children’s charity that was founded in 1988 to make the dreams of terminally or seriously ill children become a reality
• Over the last 19 years, Dreams Come True has helped over 3000 children and young adults between the ages of 2 and 21
• Today, a dream a day is fulfilled through Dreams Come True and no dream is too big or too small
• At Dreams Come True we believe that there is no limit to a child’s imagination and severe illness should not prevent children from experiencing real quality fun and excitement

THE CHILDREN

• We help children who have both life threatening and long term degenerative illnesses including leukaemia, cystic fibrosis, cancer and muscular dystrophy.
• There are 10,000 such children diagnosed every year in the UK, many of whom won’t make it to adulthood

THE DREAMS

• having a log cabin built
• meeting the Prime Minister
• riding a brand new shiny bike
• holding Mickey Mouse’s hand at Walt Disney World
• waking to find cows in the back garden
• meeting long-lost relatives in Kenya and Jamaica
• naming a police horse
• having a novel published
• recording their own CD
• travelling Route 66 in the USA

For more information about Dreams Come True please visit www.dctc.org.uk and to make a donation online now, please visit http://www.justgiving.com/dreamsweekendlymington2007. Thank you!

To find our more about the first ever Dreams Weekend, please visit www.thedreamsweekend.com

Previous Featured Charities:

Oakhaven Hospice Trust

Naomi House - Children's Hospice

The RNLI

Future Supported Charities:

Lymington Sailability

Note to local Charities: Please email jan@lymington.com if you would like us to consider featuring your charity in this section.