When illness strikes, it’s normality which suffers, along with time with loved ones and family fun. But there are charities working hard to mend this gap, by offering seriously ill children and adults the opportunity for days out, with all the care they need to make these the best they can be
By Liz Terry | Published in Attractions Management 2016 issue 4
This issue, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of charity Give Kids the World (GKTW) (page 52), which works to create magical moments for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.
Led by CEO Pamela Landwirth, GKTW raises around $40m every year in cash and kind to run its specially adapted village in Kissimmee, Florida, where children stay while visiting the state’s many attractions. Over 8,000 children are hosted each year, while many more are given access to the on-site facilities while staying elsewhere.
This is just one example of the amazing work which is quietly going on, day in and day out across the attractions world, enabling children to make great memories with their families and to have fun in spite of the many and varied health, mobility and financial challenges they face.
Also celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2016 is Dreamflight, a UK-based charity co-founded by Patricia Pearce and Derek Pereira to raise money to take deserving children to Walt Disney World and other attractions in Florida.
Dreamflight gives the children a holiday of a lifetime, with adventures, camaraderie and life-changing experiences worth many thousands of dollars, much of it donated by attractions operators. It has helped over 5,000 children to date.
Also working to support children in a range of challenging circumstances, Merlin’s Magic Wand, the charity arm of Merlin Entertainments, gives tickets and assistance to children who are in foster care or who have recently been adopted or orphaned, as well as children of terminally ill parents, those who are victims of abuse and also young carers.
And this special work isn’t limited to the theme park sector. In the Netherlands, Stitching Ambulance Wens Nederland (Ambulance Wish Foundation) has helped 6,000 people to fulfil their last requests since its formation in 2007.
With a staff of 200 medically-trained volunteers, the charity helps those who have become immobilised by illness, fulfilling wishes varying from museum and cultural visits to theatre trips and sailing experiences.
Last year, the Rijksmuseum played its part by working with Stitching Ambulance Wens to organise for three terminally ill patients to see The Late Rembrandt exhibition, which included more than 100 works by the artist during the final phase of his life. The patients were taken to the museum by ambulance on hospital beds with nurses in attendance and given private after-hours access to the exhibition.
These organisations and attractions – and those like them – put compassion before profit to enrich the lives of children, adults and families whose circumstances mean they need additional care, assistance and resources to enjoy quality of life.
Such work represents our industry at its very best. It also shows just how much it means to many to be able to spend time in attractions they personally identify with. A yearning for normality is a huge part of illness and in offering this, these businesses are doing a power of good. We applaud them all.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2016 issue 4
When illness strikes, it’s normality which suffers, along with time with loved ones and family fun. But there are charities working hard to mend this gap, by offering seriously ill children and adults the opportunity for days out, with all the care they need to make these the best they can be
By Liz Terry | Published in Attractions Management 2016 issue 4
This issue, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of charity Give Kids the World (GKTW) (page 52), which works to create magical moments for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.
Led by CEO Pamela Landwirth, GKTW raises around $40m every year in cash and kind to run its specially adapted village in Kissimmee, Florida, where children stay while visiting the state’s many attractions. Over 8,000 children are hosted each year, while many more are given access to the on-site facilities while staying elsewhere.
This is just one example of the amazing work which is quietly going on, day in and day out across the attractions world, enabling children to make great memories with their families and to have fun in spite of the many and varied health, mobility and financial challenges they face.
Also celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2016 is Dreamflight, a UK-based charity co-founded by Patricia Pearce and Derek Pereira to raise money to take deserving children to Walt Disney World and other attractions in Florida.
Dreamflight gives the children a holiday of a lifetime, with adventures, camaraderie and life-changing experiences worth many thousands of dollars, much of it donated by attractions operators. It has helped over 5,000 children to date.
Also working to support children in a range of challenging circumstances, Merlin’s Magic Wand, the charity arm of Merlin Entertainments, gives tickets and assistance to children who are in foster care or who have recently been adopted or orphaned, as well as children of terminally ill parents, those who are victims of abuse and also young carers.
And this special work isn’t limited to the theme park sector. In the Netherlands, Stitching Ambulance Wens Nederland (Ambulance Wish Foundation) has helped 6,000 people to fulfil their last requests since its formation in 2007.
With a staff of 200 medically-trained volunteers, the charity helps those who have become immobilised by illness, fulfilling wishes varying from museum and cultural visits to theatre trips and sailing experiences.
Last year, the Rijksmuseum played its part by working with Stitching Ambulance Wens to organise for three terminally ill patients to see The Late Rembrandt exhibition, which included more than 100 works by the artist during the final phase of his life. The patients were taken to the museum by ambulance on hospital beds with nurses in attendance and given private after-hours access to the exhibition.
These organisations and attractions – and those like them – put compassion before profit to enrich the lives of children, adults and families whose circumstances mean they need additional care, assistance and resources to enjoy quality of life.
Such work represents our industry at its very best. It also shows just how much it means to many to be able to spend time in attractions they personally identify with. A yearning for normality is a huge part of illness and in offering this, these businesses are doing a power of good. We applaud them all.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2016 issue 4
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
