As the crow flys I’m about a mile from Give Kids The World Village but because nothing in life is easy it’s about a 15 minute drive. The first time I saw GKTWV was by accident, The community we lived in didn’t recycle (at the time) and I needed to drop off about a months worth of recyclables. As luck would have it there was one close by on Bass Road, and as I would through a development and finally found the right road I noticed a strange set of buildings on my right, there were amusement type looking spires a gated entrance and who knew what else was inside. What I didn’t see from the outside was anything to really bring any attention to the place from the outside. The secret was you had to get inside to see the magic.
A little while later a visitor from our old stomping grounds up north in Philly mentioned a place she had heard about that gives very sick children a chance to be children and enjoy all the wonders of Central Florida and when she mentioned the name “Give Kids The World” a lightbult went off and we began to understand what we had in our own backyard. Lisa looked into volunteering and began going out when she could to help where ever they needed her. It was an emotional event every time she did go, afterall seeing children suffering is enough to hurt the hardess heart. But having a teaching background helped Lisa and she found a joy in seeing those children smiling and enjoying life because of Give Kids the World.
I was finally lucky enough to see the Village when an invitation from one of my new Orlando Blogging Friends SeaWorld Mommy invited me to an event presented by Mom It Forward at Give Kids The World Village. We were joined by over a hundred local bloggers and their families for this Media Event to help bring awareness to this Incredible Place that not only gives kids a chance to be kids again, but gives their families a little break from reality and allows them to see their children smile and laugh. That my friends is a priceless gift.
All of this doesn’t come easy, it takes a Village and the generosity of many coroporate sponsors and regular folks like you and I to keep Give Kids The World Village operating 365 days a year. Just the amount of people volunteering their time to make all of this happen is overwhelming. But when you see a child smile, its makes it all worth while.
So please spread the word, if you know of children in need of this very special place, let them that there is hope and pass this information on to their families. If you’d like to help by volunteering or writing a check just visit their website http://www.gktw.org and click on the Contact Us or Donate Now! tabs.
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