July 1st - the Start of Make a Difference for Children Month!

July is officially here, and along with it the mid-summer fun of pool parties, barbecues, celebrations of our independence, and vacations.

Why not make it about one more thing - making a difference for kids in your community? A grassroots initiative has started with just that goal. Their 4 key areas they want people to get involved are:

1. Pick an event or activity to do with a kid!
2. Support agencies that work with kids. (A Child's Dream qualifies! :) Make donations here.)
3. Tell your policy makers to support initiatives that are good for kids.
4. Tell other people about the OTHER significance of July and this campaign!

Want to read more? Click here for more information on things you can do to support Make a Difference for Children Month!

Thanks for your continued support of A Child's Dream, www.achildsdreamfulfilled.org.

Great Dreams Make Great Photos!

Here are some of the beautiful photos we've received from the dreams that happened this last month - enjoy!

This is from Jennifer's notification. We had just told her that her dream of walking into Cinderella's castle was coming true, and she was so excited! She's second from the left. Right after this photo was taken she showed us the amazing accomplishment she has been working on for the past year - she walked! Jennifer went through extensive surgery last year in order to have her legs support her and walking. It was all worth it when we saw how proud she was as she walked around the living room. We know she's having a great time at Disney World. She and her family left on Monday. We can't wait to hear all about it when they get back!

The grins in this photo are awesome! On the right is Travis. Travis' dream was to go to Disneyland, and the first full week of June that happened. Travis and his brother, David, had an amazing week playing, enjoying time with their family, and being kids. The smiles in their photos were genuine. They were making memories they will never forget!

This photo is of Mariah. Mariah dreams of someday owning her own horse ranch. A wonderful Loveland horse ranch owner, Lance (on the left), has graciously agreed to host Mariah every Monday afternoon through the summer. She'll be cleaning stalls, helping groom, and get a horse experience like none other. We also sent her to Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch to go on trail rides and enjoy a different ranch experience with her family.

To help with Mariah's experience, Lance's daughter, Kate, will be showing Mariah the ropes. Here's Kate introducing Mariah to one of the 32 horses at the ranch. They are going to have a great summer together.

Goofy poses here with Kaylie and Freddy. This family spent the last week of May in Disneyland and had a great time. It was just the break everyone needed from their current economic struggles. They rode the rides, ate with the characters, and made sure to get lots of great souvenirs to help remember their trip.

This photo captures the great time Kaylie had at Disneyland. Let's go ride the teacups right now!

Look what's going on this month at A Child's Dream!

Summer's Upon Us - Enjoy Our Happy News!

Each month for our newsletter we highlight a special board member that helps provide the direction for our agency, and this month we're excited to share the story of our board secretary, Gregg Seebohm.

Gregg has been passionate about volunteering and helping others for a long time and we are lucky to have such a compassionate person with us! Gregg and his wife Cindy have been long time Colorado residents and have devoted much of there time to helping people here in Larimer County. He is a great example of the volunteers here in Colorado who want to give back to the people who have made this state so wonderful. Gregg started developing his love for helping others when he was just a kid, working with a disabled family friend, and then when he first moved to Colorado and worked as an orderly at a Nursing home that provided care for developmentally disabled adults. Since then he has taken time out of raising two children and working in the construction industry to volunteer, he has done everything from helping kids with baseball to building them playgrounds.

When he was a kid his dream was to become a New York Yankee and now he dreams of seeing his grandson become a Yankee. In the meantime he goes to Rockies and Colorado State games, hopefully he would be happy if his grandson played with the Rockies, we can always use a great player to cheer for! When asked why he is involved with Macdonald Family Charity he said he wanted to give back to the people of Larimer County, especially the kids who have been less fortunate then his family has been.

It should be obvious by now how lucky these kids are to have someone with so much experience and kindness working towards making life better for them. His dedication to volunteering has made him a hero to so many. Over the years his heart has grown to include so many special people; A Child’s Dream is truly lucky to have him.

Pictured above is Brigit and Freddy with their mom. These two sweet kids have dreamed of going to Disneyland where they can enjoy life without the stress of financial woes. They wanted to spend time with their mom and just have fun! On Memorial Day I drove them to the airport for their first flight (for all 3!) and watched their excited faces as they went off to experience their dream. The family has enjoyed a week long trip and flies home today. We're excited to hear about it when they get back.

Upcoming Dreams

June is going to be a busy month for granting dreams, and we couldn't be happier! On Wednesday we went and told Travis that his dream of going to Disneyland was going to come true. He was so excited, but this sweet little boy wanted to make sure we were granting dreams for other kids as well. I assured him we were hard at work. He leaves next Monday to go to California. On June 9 we will have Mariah going on her dream to a horse ranch. Sylvan Dale is working with us to create an amazing getaway for this sweet girl. She will then have an ongoing relationship with a generous horse owner in Loveland that's going to allow her to come out and shadow his ranch hands. She dreams of someday owning her own ranch - this will be great practice! On June 20 Jennifer flies to Florida with her family to walk into Cinderella's castle. She has undergone extensive surgery to be able to walk again, and this will be an incredible closing chapter to a long journey for this little girl. She will be very excited to know it's coming true!

Thanks to all of you who gave to our summer dream kids. We couldn't do these dreams without your continued support. If you haven't given, it's not too late! Simply click here to make a donation and know that you're changing the life of a child forever.

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!