Making dreams come true for adults with life-threatening illness.

New York, NY – On February 14 and 15, Dream Foundation, the first national wish-granting organization for adults in the end stages of life, fulfilled Latoya Headley’s lifelong dream to attend New York Fashion Week. Fitting for Valentines Day, the fashion industry showed Headley “the love” with VIP passes to Diane von Furstenberg’s highly coveted show amongst other New York-style pleasures and fashion soirees.

Headley personally wrote to Dream Foundation several weeks ago with her fashion dream and the reason behind her final wish. In 2007, just before her 23rd birthday, Headley woke up and found she could not walk. The diagnosis was Glioblastoma Multiform, an aggressive form of brain cancer that was discovered in Headley’s spine and paralyzed her from the waist down. When Headley contacted Dream Foundation the paralysis had just spread to her chest. It was her intent to see her lifetime dream fulfilled before she lost mobility in her arms. Headley’s doctors have given her a very limited prognosis.

“I have always had a passion for style and fashion, so this is truly a dream come true for me,” says Headley. “I feel so blessed by the way Dream Foundation – and these amazing designers - have rallied to make this a incredible and memorable experience.”

Valentine’s Day for Headley kicked off with a lunch with Designer Lyn Devon, who brought Headley her most inspirational fashion books from her own personal library. Following lunch, Headley was dressed by Diane von Furstenberg in a beautiful red dress (fitting with the heart theme of the day) and headed off to Bryant Park, where she spent time with the iconic designer backstage. Headley, her sister, and Dream Foundation Program Director, Hollye Jacobs, enjoyed spectacular second-row seats at Diane von Furstenberg’s show.

Diane von Furstenberg representative, Katie Hollins states that, “The Dream Foundation is an amazing organization and to be able to fulfill Latoya's dream was an opportunity we could not pass up! We were honored to have her at our show.”

The next day Headley met with Oscar de la Renta, who spent an hour getting to know Headley and talking with young woman about her own design pursuits. To top off the experience, Oscar de la Renta gave Headley a cashmere blanket (worth $2,000) and spectacular bracelets for Headley and her sister to share. The day continued with lunch at Bergdorf Goodman.

Dream Foundation’s Hollye Jacobs reflects on the dream weekend, by stating "Here we are, right in the middle of frenzied New York Fashion Week, and these amazing designers took pause to spend quality time with Latoya. They saw to it that Latoya's Dream was magically fulfilled. We are all grateful," adds Jacobs.

Because she is unable to walk, Diva Limos has provided transportation to ensure that Latoya is able to easily access all of her activities. Dream Foundation also provided airfare transportation from Headley’s hometown, Alexandra, Virginia, and hotel accommodations at Hotel Mela.

“This is exactly why we do what we do. We feel so honored to be able to celebrate Latoya’s strength and character with this dream. We are deeply appreciative of all of our partners who have come together to make this happen,” says Jacobs. “We hope we provided Latoya the time of her life and allowed her a few days of bliss-filled distraction from her illness,” adds Jacobs.

Headley already has some experience in fashion, as she created her own line of t-shirts to bring attention to spinal and brain cancers. The designs include the word, “sozo” a word that Headley came across in a scripture on salvation, which means “rescue” or “save.” Headley is also a candidate for Miss Wheelchair Virginia.

This year, Dream Foundation will fulfill its 10,000th dream for adults battling life-threatening illnesses. As one of the only wish organizations that grants wishes to adults, its dream recipients are 18-years or older, have been given a year or less diagnosis, and meet certain financial criteria - ensuring resources are allocated to those who would not otherwise be able to afford their dreams.

“By showcasing the beauty of Latoya and her final dream, we hope to generate more awareness of the Dream Foundation’s mission - so that we can fulfill 10,000 more dreams in the years to come,” adds Jacobs.

The mission of Dream Foundation is to enhance the quality of life for individuals and their families battling life-threatening illness. With approximately 1,600 dream requests annually, Dream Foundation relies on donations of cash, airline miles and other resources to make many of their dreams come true. For more information visit www.dreamfoundation.org or call (805) 564-2131.