I am pleased to share with you that our 2010 Annual Report is available for download. We are proud of the content of this report, as it is a product fo your compassion, investment, and commitment to bettering the lives of those who suffer form terminal illness.
For this, I say thank you for your support of our mission of caregiving and emotional relief.
While I’m not offering a visit by Charles Dickens’ three ghosts, this is the perfect time of year to reflect on the past, present, and future of our organization.
The Past: The timing of our 2010 Annual Report is due to our fiscal auditing schedule and subsequent staff, board, and committee reviews in the fall. Still, the substance is significant and relevant, as it celebrates our 10,000th dream milestone, honors the families we serve and those who back us, and expresses the momentum of progress that will carry us through 2011 and beyond. Read More »
Dreamer, MaryannMaryann lives in Escondido in inland San Diego County where the temperature hit 100 degrees at 10 a.m. when I visited her modest home. “We had to move here because there were too many gangs in our former neighborhood,” she said.
Maryann and her husband didn’t mind the extra work or commute that the move entailed, and considered it an easy sacrifice for their family’s safety. She had been an administrative assistant, and he works for a food delivery company. For fun they spend their time with family activities. Scott was a coach, and Maryann a Pop Warner football mom. We are a football family, she says. Our son played until he became too tall for his age division, and now he coaches alongside his father. Specifically, this family loves Pop Warner, the Oklahoma Sooners, and college football. In that order.
Their dining room is a family football hall of fame. Its’ covered in photos, shots of their son during games and posing with trophies. Inspiration phrases, like, love heals and believe in family, are stenciled on the walls. Read More »
I want to share this patriotic dream with you, beautifully told by photographer and Dream Foundation supporter, Corey Villicana.
At Dream Foundation we are proud to fulfill a broad spectrum of dreams, yet we regard those expressed by our country’s veterans as uniquely special. It’s an honor to serve those who have so bravely served on behalf of our freedoms. The timing couldn’t be more appropriate for this story… and the photos of a soldier’s dream fulfilled.
Paul, Hilarie, and his son, Davis, on Paul's "Dream Day"
I arrived at Tender Loving Care Home Hospice on a socked-in, gloomy day but there was nothing but sunshine upon entering the building. Our dream recipient, Paul, was sitting in his wheelchair in the living room surrounded by his ex-wife, his mother who flew in from Dallas, his aunt who flew in from Colorado, the devoted Hospice team, and the co-star of his dream, his son, Davis.
As I sat at the table I was showered with gratitude from each family member for Dream Foundation’s “incredible gift” of making Paul’s dream come true on what has become a very momentous milestone in the family’s journey…the celebration of another birthday for Paul. Read More »
91-year-old hospice patient Jeannie may be actively dying, but she is quick as a whip, and let me tell you, she’s a firecracker. She is tucked away in the hottest and windiest part of Palm Springs, in a tiny mobile home not much bigger than her tiny frame. The home moves and sways when the wind blows, just as Jeannie moves and sways when you mention dancing to her. “ I used to dance and sing!”, she boasts. She welcomes visitors with a wide inviting smile – when you meet her, it’s love at first sight.
Tom and Jeannie spending the day together
Her fragile little body may be failing her, with doctors saying 6 months tops, but her mind is ever so sharp. “They told me I was going to have to stay in the nursing home and I’ll tell you what I told them: I don’t think so!” She delivered the line with just the right amount of sass and a twinkle in her eye to make it adorable.
