Give Kids the World Village

I had the honor of raising money for and serving at Give Kids the World. This place really resonated with me. I’m glad for the organizations that spend their resources on treatment, but I am grateful for this organization because when the unexpected happens, we’re so focused on surviving that we forget to live. When I was stuck in the hospital my senior year of high school with acute kidney failure, when the unexpected happened, I wasn’t thinking about getting healthy. I just wanted so badly to make it to Prom. To We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution Nationals in D.C. - I didn’t want to let my team down. I didn’t want to miss out on life. GKTW doesn’t want kids to either. Each day is a “holiday” - Christmas, Halloween, Mayor Clayton’s Birthday Party, etc. The founder of this incredible organization (that often partners with Make a Wish) was a survivor of the Holocaust. He felt his childhood had been stolen from him and thought kids dealing with serious illnesses also have their childhoods taken away so he created a village for sick children and their families to stay at that accommodates people of all physical abilities.

Over 167,000 families from all over the world have vacationed here. Each star on their campus represents a child. They stay (cost-free), at this fairytale nonprofit resort for week and visit the local theme parks, including Disney World and Universal Studios (also for free), which costs the organization, on average, $6,800 per family. GKTW has 1,800 volunteer shifts per week, and we were lucky enough to take on a small portion of it last week. I love the heart this place has for kids. If you’d also like to give kids the world, consider donating (or volunteering) - more info. at: gktw.org. @gktwvillage, thanks for having us!