Sometimes, kids who are medically fragile or facing hurdles like cancer would like to just get away from it all, even if just for a little slice of time.
Enter Dream Drives for Kids, a nonprofit that began in Portland, Oregon, and is expanding to other parts of the country.
What do they do?
First, go back to a time when you got to ride in a fancy car — say, a convertible, or something really sporty — for the first time.
Do you remember that feeling? It can be an amusement park ride of sorts, and it’s one of those things that becomes a great memory throughout life.
That’s the idea behind these folks. Giving kids with severe illnesses a chance to ride in these adult toys is what they do. The children get to tour the garage, pick a car to ride in, and then go out for a spin.
As the narrator of the video below (and one of the founders of the organization) says, “It’s like the kids we work with are going through a nightmare, and we’re trying to offer them a dream.”
This boy has Otopalatodigital syndrome and has had multiple surgeries. Just look at the joy on his face:
GIFs from ILikeGiving.com/Vimeo.
Or this little girl, who valiantly battled leukemia:
“We’ve seen kids who’ve come through this garage who’ve been dying. We’ve met with kids who have since died. And seeing the joy in their eyes, and the joy in their parents’ faces, when they’re not thinking about being sick … is an incredible feeling.”
Watch the video from Dream Drives for Kids.
