September 2020: Meet Jasmine, Digital Deadlifts, and the Josh Morrissey Classic!
The fall is officially here! While September was a very busy month at The Dream Factory, it was also Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Throughout the month, we shared stories of some of the incredible Dream Kids who have battled cancer. It is an absolute privilege to get to bring dreams to life for these kids, and so many other kids in our province who are battling life-threatening illnesses.
Keep reading to find out how our community helped make Dreams come true in September!
Meet Jasmine! + Thank You to Steinbach Realtors
LETTER FROM A DREAM KID: I’m Jasmine, and I have a rare lung condition called PCD, which is short for Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia. That means my cilia (AKA my nose hairs and ear hairs) don’t function like most people’s. My cilia don’t help my body clear out mucus and bacteria so basically I must do it myself. As a quirky, outgoing and positive person, I try to make friends with the nurses and doctors, and even with a PICC line in my arm, I still request to do exercises. The difficult thing about having a condition like this is the big responsibilities that come with it and always making sure that I stay on top of it.
Beyond my condition, you’ll see that I'm a bubbly and mature girl who loves everything about life. I make an effort to have a positive outlook on life every day. I am told that I am an ‘old soul’. I’m friendly and kind, and always put people before myself, especially my family and friends. In my life, my biggest achievements so far have been team captain for my ringette team, school ambassador and winning the award for most dedicated player of the Grunthal Ringette Association.
Jasmine is a very special young woman, and we were so thrilled when our friends at the Steinbach Realtors decided they wanted to help bring her dream of visiting Paris (when it's safe to do so, of course!) to life!
On September 3rd, our friends at the Steinbach Realtors held their annual golf tournament and chose to once again help make a dream come true for a child in Manitoba. It was a wonderful day of golf, and this incredible group raised $9,000 towards Jasmine's dream come true! Thank you to Jasmine for sharing her story with us, and thank you to the Steinbach Realtors for helping make more dreams come true!
Josh Morrissey Golf Classic
In more golf-related news, we have to thank everyone who helped organize, participated in, and donated to our annual Josh Morrissey Classic! September 11th was a beautiful day for golf and it was so great to see so many smiling faces ready to hit the golf course in support of our Dream Kids!
Although things looked a little different these year, we are so grateful to our Dream Community for coming out, staying safe, and generously participating in a physically-distanced day of golf. Over $37,000 dollars was raised to make more Dreams come true! Truly incredible!
We want to give a huge thank you to our friend Josh Morrissey for his continued support of this signature event. Although he could not join us in person this year, he sent a special message for our golfers to thank them for their support and let them know that they were the real MVPs of the day!
We are already looking forward to seeing you at next years Josh Morrissey Classic! Stay tuned to our website for more details.
Digital Deadlifts for Dreams!
On September 20th, lifters from across Manitoba came together safely and virtually to celebrate an incredible year of fundraising for Deadlifts for Dreams. Together, our Deadlifts community raised over $30,000 to support Apollo and Logan's dreams come true — and we are truly so appreciative!
While we were not able to gather in the way we hoped, we had so much fun receiving video messages from our lifters throughout the day. Dream Kid Apollo even cheered on some of the lifters over video call! Check out the video below for a recap of our virtual meet so you can see how strong our Deadlifts community is - inside and out!
On behalf of Deadlifts for Dreams, we'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of our lifters and sponsors for their patience, understanding and continued support as we found the safest way to deadlift for dreams this year. We are so proud of this community, and so happy to have you all as part of our Dream Factory family. Together, you have made two more dreams come true and that is a truly incredible accomplishment.
You're Invited! - Introducing "Dream and Dine!"
Join us on November 10th for Dream and Dine, the virtual event you’ve been waiting for! In lieu of this year’s Dream Maker Auction, we will treat you to a fabulous evening complete with a delicious meal, wonderful entertainment, and most importantly - a can't miss auction helping make dreams come true for Manitoba kids battling life-threatening illnesses.
Available options include Chef At Home - where we bring a talented local chef to your kitchen to cook a beautiful meal for your table of 8 and Dinner Delivered - where we deliver a delicious dinner for your table of 8 so that you and your guests can focus on what’s most important: quality time together! After dinner, stream into the live entertainment and get ready to bid virtually on some of our incredible live auction prizes!
Sound like fun? We think so, too! Click the button below to learn more about how you can participate in Dream and Dine this November! If you have any questions or would like to connect with a member of our staff, contact Karly at karly@thedreamfactory.ca
Pie Party @ Home - October 24th!
The Pie Party is BACK! One of our favourite events from 2019 returns, but looking a little bit different! We've partnered with our friends at Good Buds Bakery and Exchange District Pharmacy to create 50 LIMITED EDITION Pie Party @ Home Kits that you can order to have your own in-home Pie Party. The kits include party hats, other party essentials, and of course — an one-of-a-kind Dream Pie created just for this event.
The "Birthday Cake Ice Cream Pie" is an absolute dream come true! It features a confetti graham cracker crust, birthday cake ice cream and a slice of real birthday cake! If that’s not enough, it comes topped with whipped cream, colorful sugar icing, maraschino cherries and chocolate curls.
Each Pie Party @ Home Kit will cost $50 and be treated as a donation (partial tax receipt provided) to The Dream Factory to help keep kids dreaming during this challenging time. On top of that, Exchange District Pharmacy will match your $50 donation with one of their own — meaning that each Pie Party @ Home Kit sold will result in $100 donated to The Dream Factory. Pies and kits will be safely delivered right to your door (Winnipeg-area only) on Saturday, October 24th.
Last year's Pie Party raised enough funds to make Zachary's dream come true, and we are so excited to share this very sweet way to help bring more dreams to life for Manitoba kids fighting some tough battles!
One last thing! It wouldn't be a party without a little entertainment! If you purchase one of our Pie Party Kits, you'll also receive a special link to a video full of entertainment perfect for celebrating a Pie Party @ Home with the whole family. There will be a few special guest performers, and will be our chance to say thank you for helping make dreams come true
Lincoln’s Lickety Split - Thank You BDI + St. Leon Gardens!
As fall arrives and we wrap up another wonderful season with our friends at the Bridge Drive In, we want to once again say thanks for making Lincoln's Lickety Split such a sweet treat this summer! Our thanks goes out to the incredible teams at BDI and St. Leon Gardens for creating this special treat, and to everyone who came out to try it! Together, we raised over $4000 to support Lincoln's dream come true, and that's the sweetest part of all!
We also wanted to share a short message from Lincoln's family showing what your support this summer has meant to them:
"We want to thank all the folks at BDI and The Dream Factory for an amazing summer filled with Laughter, Love and Lickety Splits in support of our son Lincoln. The outpour of love and support has been overwhelming and completely shocking to us. This truly is Friendly Manitoba. Cheers, Lincoln, Pierre & Raechelle.”
Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Chris!
Each month, we’re thrilled to be shining the spotlight on of our our incredible volunteers! Our volunteers are a huge part of the reason we are able to bring Dreams to life, and none of our work would be possible without their tireless care and dedication.
This month we are proud to celebrate one of our dedicated volunteers, Chris! Chris has supported The Dream Factory in so many ways, from volunteering at events, helping spread awareness, and everything in-between. He even recently held a fundraiser for The Dream Factory on his birthday! If there is a Dream Factory initiative in our community, chances are Chris has offered to lend a hand!
Thank you, Chris for everything you do to help bring dreams to life. We are so lucky to have you as part of our Dream Factory family, and appreciate all that you do!
