One Year Of Dreams - My First Year At The Dream Factory

I can’t believe that it’s already been a year since I joined the team here at The Dream Factory.

For those unfamiliar, The Dream Factory is a charity that makes dreams come true for Manitoba kids battling life-threatening illnesses. We used to be called The Rainbow Society - and have brought over 700 dreams to life over the last 35 years. With a few months to go, we’re expecting 2018 to be a record year for dreams come true.

People ask me all the time: how does it work?

It’s simple. Dream Kids need to be under 18, have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and be able to share their dream with us (in whatever way they are most comfortable!). That’s it! From there - it’s up to us to make their dream experience the best it can possibly be.

This past year has been incredible. It has been a privilege to work alongside inspiring families and wonderful partners. Together, we’ve done some really cool things and brought dreams to life along the way. Today, I thought I would share some of my favourite moments from the last year:

November 2017

What better way to start a new gig than at Winnipeg’s Santa Claus Parade? The parade is where I first met Dream Kid Preston. Preston is a tough little dude battling Wilm’s Timor - a cancer of the kidneys. His Dream is to celebrate his 5th birthday in Disney World with his family.

Preston was a very special parade guest. As the Winnipeg Police Service’s “Police Officer for a Day” - he toured the WPS HQ and then rode in style during the parade. I can tell you first hand that Preston loved having control of the lights and sirens during the parade.

December 2017

Everyone who watches the holiday firelog knows what a big deal it is when the arm reaches in to add a new log to the fire. Well last year, I was that arm.

Shaw TV partnered with local charities for a creative spin on the holiday favourite. We loved getting to share some of our Dream Kids and their stories with families over the holidays. It was a fun way to celebrate the holidays.

February

February was a really special month. We began an amazing new partnership with the Manitoba Paddling Association and became the charity of choice for their annual Dragon Boat Festivals. This was so huge for us. It means that more dreams can come true here in Manitoba, and we couldn’t be more appreciative!

We celebrated by hosting our first festival - the Ice Dragon Boat Festival. Personally, I had never heard of Ice Dragon Boating, but it was a highlight of the winter for me. Our team of 10 - the “Ice Pirates” had a blast and even had a special drummer in Dream Kid Preston. Our team definitely did not win, but Preston never stopped cheering.

March

At The Dream Factory, March is the “Month of Dreams”. This is when schools and companies across Manitoba host fundraisers in their class or office to support The Dream Factory. I was blown away at the generosity of so many Manitobans, and it was a joy to see all the creative ways funds were raised. Shoutout to Emergent Biosolutions who had a Samosa sale in their cafeteria - amazing!

I also want to give a special thanks to the students at Niverville Collegiate. When they learned that one of their own classmates was an upcoming Dream Kid, they decided they were going to raise enough funds to make her dream come true. These kids rallied their community and truly went above and beyond to make it happen.

April

I’ve loved taking classes at WPG Cycle since they opened in 2016. I was really excited when they wanted to get involved with The Dream Factory. In April, we celebrated the end of their campaign to raise funds for Ella’s dream.

Ella is a very special girl. She has an incredibly rare illness and her dream was to meet other kids who shared a similar experience. The amazing folks at WPG Cycle made that happen, raising over $11,000 to bring Ella’s dream to life.

This May, Ella attended a conference (at Disney no less!) where she met so many new friends that are facing similar illnesses.

June

June was our first River City Dragon Boat Festival. Paddling teams of 20 took to the river in support of The Dream Factory and it turned out to be an incredible weekend. Side note: have you ever dragon boated before? I hadn’t, but it turned out to be a lot of fun and a really great workout. If I can manage without falling in, you should be fine.

July

Speaking of workouts, my good friend Lendyll hosted the first ever “Dream Big Boot Camp” in July. He planned the fitness fundraiser because he was looking for a way to give back. Lendyll loves what he does, and it shows. The energy in the room and the people excited about making a difference (while working up a sweat!) was just so cool.

People like Lendyll are why I love what I do. He was so excited to be making a dream come true for a kid in our community going through some super tough stuff. Nothing is better than that.

August

August was the best. I was lucky to be involved in a few really cool experiences right here in Manitoba.

Delaney’s dream was to get a behind the scenes look at each of Winnipeg’s sports teams. I was excited to head back to one of my favourite places, Shaw Park. Delaney met the whole Winnipeg Goldeyes team and got to chat baseball with Coach Rick Forney. He even sat with her during the first inning to talk strategy . Huge thanks to Andrew Collier for making this experience an amazing one for Delaney. It was an awesome night.

This was also the month of the Slingshot Racing Cup! Racecar Driver David Richert invited our Dream Families out to Gimli Motorsport Park to hit the track with him and take in a few races. It was beyond cool, and if you don’t believe me then just ask Dream Kid Colton right before he was about to go for a spin.

September

September was the launch of a brand new type of event - Dream Streets. Local designers brought our most popular dreams to life by creating pop-up art installations. These pieces were displayed at Manyfest and Nuit Blanche and were a beautiful way of sharing our work with the community.

Another September highlight was Le Burger Week. The Fairmont Hotel had a special backdoor burger in support of The Dream Factory. It was about as delicious as you’d expect.

October

One year later - things are still happening! “Made Here” opened in October, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, it’s a must for the holidays. Made Here is a beautiful new store featuring incredible local products. The best part is that all of the makers involved have committed to donating a portion of all proceeds to local children’s charities (including The Dream Factory!). You can find Made Here in Richardson Concourse underneath the Fairmont Hotel.

Last month was also fun for our Dream Kids - who attended their first workshop hosted by our new friends at Art City. If you are unfamiliar with the folks at Art City, they are incredible. They were so, so kind to have us, and the kids had an absolute blast. The best part? The art facilitator was also a former Dream Kid! Our kids couldn’t believe it.

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The last year was full of so many cool experiences, and it's been amazing to see our community come together to raise funds and make more dreams come true.

But more than that, we’ve created fun, memorable experiences for kids and families that have gone through some incredibly difficult experiences.

So many people helped to make these dreams and events possible. I’m constantly amazed at the willingness and generosity of our community. Whether it’s a boot camp, spin class, bake sale, or art project - it is an absolute privilege to get to work alongside people who want to give back in any way they can.

To everyone who supported The Dream Factory in some way this year - thank you. I am so proud to get to work with some of the most amazing folks in our community, and I hope you know how truly grateful we are to benefit from your support.

Here's to more dreams come true in 2019!