Why do you donate?

This week has been an exciting one as we gear up for our role at the Realities Poker Run over Memorial Day weekend. We will be in Old Town Square in downtown Fort Collins offering virtual motorcycle racing. It's $5 per race you race, and the winner with the best time over the weekend will receive $250 AND tickets to a real motorcycle race in Colorado Springs.

People's generosity has been overwhelming - we're working with Best Buy, and they are providing a game that's not on the market yet along with all of our tv/gaming equipment. Realities is also helping us raise money by providing us a booth space along with offering the opportunity for participants to pay $5 and potentially win $25,000 in a dice game. The prize for best race time has been graciously provided by Center Partners, and we haven't even touched on the time and energy that goes into pulling something like this together by our volunteer, Joyce. Awesome generosity of time, connections, and money!

What makes you take the step to donate your talents or treasure? Is it an appreciation for how blessed you and your family are? Do you do it because your parents told you to? Is is something that's indescribable?

Whatever the reason you give may be, please know that the impact your donations have on the children in our program of granting dreams is something we can only attempt to describe. Their smiles tell only a small tip of the iceberg of impact you have on their lives. Thank you!

Way to go!

You helped us reach amazing goals in 2010 and the start of 2011!

Like graduating Kindergarten, our agency moved from being a kid to becoming a young adult. We couldn't have done it without you, and we are extremely grateful! Did you know that in 2010 we raised over $100,000 and fulfilled 22 dreams for deserving children? Amazing! We couldn't have done it without you and your help!

We are excited at how the first four and a half months have gone with A Child's Dream. We have been working hard to make dreams come true for children and youth who are terminally or chronically ill, injured and low income in our community. From January to today we have made 6 dreams come true including a meet and greet with LeBron James and LeCrae, trips to Disneyland and Morgan's Wonderland, and a cruise. It's been exciting to see these dreams come together and the impact on the children's lives. Below are some of the great pictures from the dreams.

From top to bottom we have Jackson who went to Morgan's Wonderland, Jordan who met LeBron James, Casey who went to Disneyland and Jose who met LeCrae.

Without you, these dreams wouldn't have come true. Thank you for your past gifts and support! We hope you will consider making a donation (by clicking here) to help us fulfill our summer dreams.

Perhaps a donation isn't a option right now. That's ok! We have an exciting volunteer opportunity coming up this weekend. We will have a booth at the Realities for Children Poker Run in downtown Fort Collins starting on Saturday and going to Sunday. We have partnered with Best Buy to bring virtual motorcycle racing to the event. It will be a ton of fun. We are in need of volunteers to help man our booth on Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. (in 3 hour shifts) and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. (in 3 and 4 hour shifts). Please let me know if you can help!

Thank you!

Katie

Give a gift just because!

If only hope could be wrapped in a box!

The normally sunny days of a Colorado springtime don't seem to be anywhere in sight. It's cloudy, dreary, and cold. Is this really May? I don't know about you, but I tend to get bummed out when I don't see the sun for a while. Where is our beautiful weather?
Instead of letting the weather get you down, why not take charge of the situation and give someone a gift to brighten their day? The gift I'm suggesting is hope. Yes, with us, it CAN be bought (but maybe not wrapped in a box)!
Did you know that generosity can impact your own mood and outlook? So, instead of depending on some happy Colorado sunshine, why not make yourself happy knowing that you're making a difference by giving to A Child's Dream? Your gift will go a long way to helping us achieve our mission of making children's dreams come true. Children like CJ.
CJ is a sweet young man who struggles with Cerebral Palsy and memory challenges. His is always ready to greet new people with a smile, and has an incredibly upbeat personality despite the struggles he has to endure on a daily basis. CJ dreamed of going to Disneyland, and on January 25, 2011 his dream came true! The entire family flew to Disneyland and spent the week hanging with the characters, riding the rides and seeing the shows. It was a very happy week for everyone in his family, and one he will remember forever.
I hope you'll consider making today a happy day; for you and deserving kids in northern Colorado! Donations can be made by simply clicking here.
Thank you for your continued support of our wonderful program!
Sincerely,
Katie Reiff
Executive Director

Donate today! Make a difference that lasts a lifetime!

Your gifts make a difference - one dollar at a time!

Did you know that your gifts allow us to continue to grow to serve the ever growing population of eligible children in Larimer County? The more money received, the more dreams we can make come true. It's a pretty amazing equation!
Each gift we receive is stewearded to have the biggest impact possible. With our relationships with service providers and your donations, dreams come alive for less than anticipated. The more gifts, the more dreams!
One really wonderful dream we have seen come true this year was Tabythia's.
Tabythia's smile says it all! On March 25 this sweet little girl went on her dream - a cruise to Mexico with her mom and two brothers. The family had a wonderful time away from the stress of life, and Tabythia got to enjoy paradise with that smile on her face the entire time. She is currently undergoing treatment for cancer in her eye, but cancer can't hide the twinkle!
You may think yes, this is a wonderful story. However, there is no way I can afford to send 4 people on a cruise. That's the great thing about what we do! Your generous donation pooled with other people's donations make it very doable!
Here are some of the ways a smaller donation may be put to use with A Child's Dream:

• $50 provides a dream recipient with a goody basket full of favorite foods, toys and memorabilia associated with their dream at their notification
• $150 provides 4 hours of limo service to a dream in fulfillment
• $500 provides tickets to an event the dream child wishes to attend (sporting events, concerts, etc.)
• $10000 provides airfare for a family to Disneyland

Want to make a dream come true this summer? Simply click here to donate now!

Thank you for helping our mission of making dreams a reality for these struggling kids!

What a beginning - let's keep it up!

2011 has been an exciting time to launch our name change. We have been "A Child's Dream" for 4 months now, and we are loving it. With meeting our goal of funds raised at the fashion show as well as making 6 dreams come true, it has been busy and wonderful. Thank you for the role you play in making it so!

As you know, the school year is wrapping up, and summer vacations are on everyone's minds. Where are you going this summer? Perhaps to visit relatives or the beach? Maybe even Disneyland or World? Fun times are ahead - there's no doubt about it!

For some of the kids in our community the summer doesn't look as exciting. Kids like Travis. Travis is a little boy from Loveland who is from an extremely low income family. He hears his friends at school ask each other where their families are going this summer, and this sweet little boy knows that his family can't afford to go anywhere. His dad was in an accident at work that left him with a brain injury and without one leg. His mom does what she can, but she is unable to leave the home to get a job to support the family because Travis and his sibling can't be left alone with dad because of the injuries. It's a vicious cycle, and unfortunately, Travis is one of the people suffering the most. He would love to be able to be as excited as his school friends about summer and brag about a trip to Disneyland - somewhere he's dreamed of going for the longest time.

This is just one of the stories of the children whose dreams we are hoping to fulfill this summer. However, we can't do it alone. Over the course of May, we hope you will consider giving a donation to A Child's Dream to help us fulfill the summer dreams. Dreams like Travis' of going to Disneyland! It's easy to make a donation - simply click here.

Thank you for all of your support in the past. Your gifts, time and support have helped us fulfill 6 dreams already in 2011. Did you know that since we were founded, A Child's Dream has made over 40 dreams a reality? That's in less than 3 1/2 years! We can't do it alone, and we thank you for what you do!

Sincerely,

Katie

Katie Reiff
Executive Director
A Child's Dream