January 2020: SpongeBob, Special Thanks, and Our New Team Member!
2020 is here, and it is already shaping up to be one of our busiest years ever. In the first few weeks of this new decade, we have already met some truly incredible families and are so excited about the many wonderful dreams that will be coming true this year!
This month, we made sure that 2020 was off to a great start! Here's some of the fun things we got up to this month:
Destiny's SpongeBob Dream Come True!
Pictured: Destiny and her family will be enjoying Punta Cana in style while they stay in this incredible pineapple villa!
Pictured: The Villa comes complete with SpongeBob’s signature living room - Gary is even there to say hello!
Destiny loves SpongeBob, so much that her dream was to visit the Nickelodeon Resort in Punta Cana and stay in a villa that is absolutely one of a kind: SpongeBob's Pineapple! Destiny has been bravely battling Hodgkins Lymphoma, and she and her family were more than ready to make some really fun memories during her dream come true.
Earlier this month, Destiny and her family travelled to the Dominican Republic for an entire week of fun in the sun, with one of the coolest accommodations we've ever seen!
Welcome to The Dream Factory Karly!
This month was an exciting one at The Dream Factory, as we have had a new addition to our team! We are so pleased to welcome Karly Tardiff to our Dream Factory Family. Karly joins the team with a wealth of knowledge and experience working with non profit organizations in creative and exciting ways.
As the Annual and Individual Giving Coordinator, Karly will be working closely with our incredible monthly and annual donors to ensure they know how important their support is in bringing dreams to life across Manitoba. Welcome Karly!
Save The Date for The Dream Maker Auction: April 24th, 2020
It's that time of year, and our BIGGEST event of the year is just around the corner. April 24th, 2020 marks the 26th Annual Dream Maker Auction - an absolutely incredible evening complete with outstanding prizes, fun games and draws, and an amazing energy in the room.
We are always fortunate to have one of our Dream Families share their story with the audience, and there might even be some special Princess and Superhero guests!
Tickets and sponsorships for the Dream Maker Auction are now available! Click here to learn more about this year's event, and how you can get involved. See you there!
Made Here: Open in 2020!
Made Here was once again a hit over the holiday season for folks wanting to spoil their loved ones with some incredible local products while also making a dream come true! We are so excited that Made Here will remain open throughout 2020 as your one stop shop to buy local and give local! If you haven't yet had a chance to visit Made Here, the shop is located in the Richardson Concourse underneath the Fairmont Winnipeg and is absolutely worth the trip! More information available by clicking here!
Beyond Dreams: Thank You Quintex!
Earlier this month, a wonderful group of our Dream Families had an unforgettable night at the Winnipeg Jets game. The evening was made possible by our longtime friends at Quintex - who donated their suite and made the experience so, so special.
This was such an incredible way for our families to make more memories, and we are truly so appreciative! Thank you again to Quintex for always going above and beyond when it comes to create more moments and more memories for our Dream Families!
Pictured: Our Dream Families were all smiles at the Jets game earlier this month - thanks Quintex!
A few very special thank you’s!
Pictured: Carli, Chase, and Reese presenting Dream Factory Executive Director Howard Koks with their birthday donation!
Pictured: Dream Kid Ari, his sister Sydney, and Howard Koks after Ari presented his incredible donation.
Pictured: Kelly Melchor with Winnipeg Insurance Brokers presents a donation to Andrew Kussy in support of more dreams come true!
One of our absolute favourite things is when our incredible supporters stop by our office to share how they've helped make dreams come true. We were lucky to have many special visitors this month, and could not be more grateful for all of their care and hard work!
We are very very lucky to have had TWO very special gifts as a result of kids in Manitoba donating their birthday money to make dreams come true. We want to give a HUGE thanks to Carli, Chase, and Reese - who came all the way from Fisher Branch to donate their birthday money from 2019. We also want to say thanks to Jolie, big sister to Dream Kid Paisley, who donated accepted donations instead of gifts at her recent birthday party. Thank you all so much for thinking of us on your special days and for helping bring dreams to life.
We are also sending out a VERY special thank you to our friend (and Dream Kid!) Ari and his community of support. At his recent Bar Mitzvah, Ari shared what The Dream Factory meant to him and asked for donations to support another Dream come true. Last week, Ari was thrilled to donate over $14,000 - a truly incredible gift that will bring another dream to life for a child here in our community going through some really tough stuff. Our sincere thanks to Ari for being a special part of our Dream Factory family and for including us in his celebration. We could not be more appreciative!
Finally, we were so thrilled that our friends at Winnipeg Insurance Brokers stopped by to visit The Dream Factory. For their last quarter, their generous staff raised funds through their Denim Makes a Difference program to help another Dream come true this year. We are so thankful for your support and appreciate you coming by to learn more about the work we do!
Meet A Dream Maker: The Winnipeg Foundation
Every month, we recognize some of our incredible dream makers. These are members of our Dream Factory family who’s support is the reason dreams can come true for Manitoba Kids.
This month, we want to say a special thanks to our friends at The Winnipeg Foundation. The Winnipeg Foundation does such incredible work with organizations across the province. We are very fortunate to be the recipient of a Capacity Building Grant that has allowed us to focus more on what's really important: making more dreams come true. Thanks again to The Winnipeg Foundation for helping make dreams come true!
Pictured: Andrew Kussy with Kerry Ryan and Megan Tate of The Winnipeg Foundation’s Grants Team and Michele Prysazniuk from the Winnipeg Free Press during our WFP Takeover in June 2019