At The Dream Factory - We Go Beyond Dreams!
At The Dream Factory our mission is to make dreams come true — and a big part of that is ensuring that our families feel supported before and after their Dream experience.
The Beyond Dreams program is our way of reminding Dream Families that they are an important part of our community, always. It doesn’t matter if their dream was years ago or still to come — they are what The Dream Factory is all about!
Beyond Dreams embodies all of the special moments, experiences, and gifts that we work hard to create outside of the child’s “Big Dream”. It includes everything from renting out a local theatre for a movie night, hosting a princess party to celebrate a big birthday or treatment milestone, or sending our kids behind the scenes at fun community events like Monster Jam. We do our best to regularly create magical experiences right here at home. It’s in these gestures, however small, that we are able to remind our families that there is a whole community of support behind them during a difficult time in their lives.
We’ve recently expanded the Beyond Dreams program to make the experience for our Dream Kids even better and provide some extra support along the way. These additions included improved welcome packages and birthday and holiday gifts; support for families including grocery gift cards and family dinners; and Dream Parties to mark upcoming Dreams come true.
“The Beyond Dreams program is our way of reminding Dream Families that they are an important part of our community, always. It doesn’t matter if their dream was years ago or still to come — they are what The Dream Factory is all about!”
Dream Family Funds
In working with the medical community, we learned that despite our Dream Families excitement to have a dream come true, many were still struggling with the financial strain that comes along with having a sick child. Increased expenses, additional childcare, and time needed off of work are all factors that play a big role for families taking care of a child with a life-threatening illness.
To help our families, The Dream Factory established Dream Family Funds, which provide our families with up to $3000 in financial assistance. These funds may be used for anything the family needs, be it hospital meals, groceries, bills, etc. This is our small way of reminding families that they have an upcoming Dream to look forward to - despite how difficult things may be right now.
“As a Dream Family, I can attest to how life changing these supports have been! Having some Dream Family Funds available while our son spent 8 months on chemotherapy help take the stress out of hospital parking charges and ordering in food when no one would go to the grocery store or find time to cook. It made trips to the pharmacy less frightening.
The beautiful birthday gifts each year remind our son Beckett that he isn’t forgotten, and that just because some days are medically harder than others, his experience fighting for his life makes him uniquely qualified to belong to the Dream Community.
We read the stories of other Dream Kids together, and it helps us feel less alone in our struggles. For some sick kids, being ‘special’ isn’t always a gift they want. I can say with great certainty that when a doctor or specialist tries to sell my son on the idea that he is incredibly unique and interesting (medically), my son rolls his eyes and gets angry inside. He doesn’t want to be ‘special’, he wants to be ‘normal’!
Pictured: Dream Kid Beckett and his family are very thankful for the support behind Dream Family Funds.
But in his Dream Community, he IS normal - Dream Kids are all just a collection of super hero kids battling diseases they didn’t choose the very best way they know how, and as part of the Dream Community, Beckett doesn’t stand out at all. He is just an ordinary, normal Kid. What a gift to belong to a group of young people just like him!”
- Dream Mom Desneige (read Beckett’s story)
Beyond Dreams Activities
Here are a few of our favourite examples of just a few of the fun activities and experiences we are proud to have delivered through the Beyond Dreams program!
Welcome Packages + Special occasions
The Beyond Dreams experience starts from the very first time we meet a Dream Kid and their family. Every new Dream Kid receives a welcome package that includes a teddy bear and blanket, along with a ton of other goodies. These teddy bears become treasured items for Dream Kids, and can often be found accompanying their Dream Kids on adventures around the world!
We also celebrate special occasions including birthdays, holidays, treatment milestones, and more. Thanks to our friends at Cinnaholic, every Dream Kid receives a special treat on their birthday; and last year our friends at Black Market Provisions ran a campaign that allowed us to purchase holiday gifts for Dream Kids throughout Manitoba!
If we know a child or family is having a particularly tough time; and that we can help in even the smallest way by dropping off a toy, craft, or stuffed animal at home or the hospital - that’s what the true spirit of the Beyond Dreams program is all about.
Dream Parties
Dream Parties are one of the most exciting parts of the Beyond Dreams program! We hold Dream Parties to celebrate an upcoming dream come true; an important treatment milestone; or simply to bring our incredible community of Dream Kids and families together for some fun!
Past Dream Parties have included movie night pizza parties at The Park Theatre, craft workshops at Crock-A-Doodle, and Princess Tea Parties, just to name a few. There’s no limit to the magic of a Dream Party!
Community Events and Outings
We are lucky to be able to invite our Dream Kids and families to participate in one-of-a-kind events and experiences throughout our community. These include everything from sporting events and meet and greets to having the opportunity to spend a day on the racetrack with a professional racecar driver. We’ve hosted art workshops with our friends at Artists Emporium, taken kids behind the scenes at Jets practices, and even had Dream Kids become the Police Chief for A Day.
Sometimes, these events are created with a specific child’s dream or interests in mind. For example, Dream Kid Karmyn was dreaming of trying sushi in Japan, but was too sick to travel - so our friends at Ichiban hosted her for a sushi making class. In another example, our friends at the Japanese Cultural Association of Manitoba hosted Dream Kid Daria to give her travel tips before her Dream Trip to Tokyo!
Help Us Go Beyond Dreams
When it comes to going Beyond Dreams - the sky is the limit!
Whether it is by celebrating a special occasion, participating in a Dream Party, hosting a community event or outing, or supporting our Dream Family Funds we would love to have you involved in making Dreams even more special for kids in Manitoba battling life-threatening illnesses!
If you know of a way you can help create a special experience or memory for a Dream Kid or family in our community - we’d love to hear from you! Use the button below to contact our Dream Manager, Shannon and learn more!
Pictured: Dream Kid Meinard giving his loudest dinosaur ROAR during our Beyond Dreams Pumpkin Carving event in October 2019.