The entertainment included carnival games where the children could ‘win’ a variety of prizes from candy, to fun shaped erasers, and even stuffed animals.  The ever popular face painting was provided by Debbi Cox and was again a huge hit.  Another popular station was the arts and crafts where children could fill shapes with colorful sand and also test their artistic skills by painting vases provided by Paint Glaze and Fire to be used at a later date.  Dream children and their families were also able to take home a memory of the day by enjoying taking candid pictures in a photobooth provided by Jeff Legree at Shutterbooth.  Our newest addition to this year’s picnic was the hundreds of balloon animals twisted up by Kelly Potter of Full O’Ballooney.  Everywhere you turned there was a different shape balloon that the children were enjoying.

This year’s food was provided by Two Guys and a Grill and they never disappoint.  Families were offered hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, and a drink to enjoy during a break from all the activities.  The picnic closed with the performance by Robert Wolf from Abracadabra Extravaganza where he fascinated the crowd with his illusions and humor.  Robert ended his performance with his famous fire eating skills that left the crowd amazed!  The grand finale was once again provided by Winco Fireworks where the best fireworks show all summer was displayed!

Thanks to Laura and everyone else who helped make this another fun and successful picnic for the dream families!

As part of a national organization a representative from our chapter attends two semi-annual (spring and fall) Board of Director’s meetings. I had the pleasure of recently attending the fall meeting, which took place in Kennebunkport, Maine. The meeting is a great opportunity to hear about what other chapters across the country are doing in their communities.

At the fall meeting, there is also an awards banquet to honor those chapters that have excelled during the past year in certain categories. I had the privilege of accepting three awards on behalf of the Kansas City chapter.

The first one was for Outstanding Promotional Material for our promotional video which you can find in the About Us/Our Mission section of our web page. The second award was for Outstanding Special Event for the Topsy’s Popcorn fundraiser during the 2010 holiday season, which recognized dream child JeTay Montagne for her talented design which was used for the special holiday tin. Lastly, Larry Moore from Channel 9 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for all he has done for the Greater Kansas City Dream Factory over the last 26 years.

It’s times like these we should stop for a moment and have a real sense of pride for our Dream Factory chapter and excellent group of volunteers. It never ceases to amaze me what we continue to accomplish together and in partnership with the generous Kansas City community.

The next Dream Factory convention will be held in Louisville, Kentucky at the National Headquarters in March 2012.

- Sarah Littleton, Vice President, Dream Factory of Greater Kansas City

Read more about the tremendous success of this year’s NFLA golf tournament: http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/article-2/Former-Chiefs-Tee-Up-For-Dream-Factory/1588922c-c6bb-4c85-8661-b84d1f2d65aa

Sponsored by the local property management group, Cassidy Turley, this year’s Fishing for Dreams provided hours of fishing fun for the kids. Volunteers from both Cassidy Turley and the Dream Factory were a big help by assisting the children in baiting hooks and taking the fish off to throw back into water.

To feed the hungry crowd, a picnic lunch of burgers and hot dogs was provided by Two Guys and a Grill and then the fishing resumed. After hours of casting and reeling, everyone packed it up and headed home to look forward to next year.

A big thank you to all who took part in making this annual outing such a special time for our dream families!

Companies that helped support the event include Platinum Sponsors ROUSH CleanTech and Worthington Cylinders; Gold Sponsors MRE Consulting, Data Source, Keyera, Westfall O’Dell, and KC Freightliner; Silver Sponsors Inergy, Tri-State Tank, Marathon Petroleum Company, Plains Marketing, Dufour Petroleum, Lansing Trade Group, BP, Donlen Corporation, Digital Evolution Group, and Centennial Energy; and Sponsors Stellar Crane, Klinger Paint, Service One, Berquist, Papco, Bulk Truck and Transport Service, Staples, Flint Hills Resources, Petrogas, Customer Truck & Equipment, ConocoPhillips, Fifth Third Bank, and Targa Resources.

Thank you all for helping us put smiles on the faces of very deserving children in the Kansas City area!

On such an entertaining and lively night, it’s easy to focus on the fun side of these dreams and not the reality of their purpose. But then we receive a note like the one we received just a couple of weeks ago from the mother of one of our Dream children. The update on her daughter Rachelle, the request for prayers and the profuseness of her thankfulness drive home the real impact that something as simple as a family vacation can have on a child and family facing the daily hardships of chronic illness:

“I wanted to tell you again—thank you for the Dream Vacation last year to Disney World, Florida. I still have pics and I am trying to figure out how to send some to you. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that Rachelle’s vision is getting worse; also my son has Diabetes Type 1 and he is getting worse. As for me, my asthma plus other medical problems are also getting worse. I am not telling you this so that you can feel sorry for us, I am telling you this because I am very, very thankful we got to go!!!”

It’s important to remember we’re doing more than simply sending a family on a trip  … what we’re truly giving them–what YOU the supporters of the Dream Factory are truly giving them–is the gift of time together, the gift of a lighter heart and a brighter outlook. Even if only for a few days or a week.  I’m honored that the Dream Factory was able to give Rachelle and her family a break from the reality of life for awhile, and I’m amazed each day at the outpouring of support and effort from our amazing volunteers and the Kansas City community. We have many more children like Rachelle who deserve that little ray of light and lifetime of memories. I hope you’ll join me at the Gala on April 29 to make it happen for all of them!