Kid's Wish Network ...where dreams really do come true!

It is with great pleasure that I am able to blog, not just about the C&W Corporate Office gettting involved in the philanthropy efforts this year, but also about some of our properties!  Today, I received information that 2 of our Florida properties have joined forces with the Kid's Wish Network to help fufill the wishes of 2 very special children.

These properties are Quality Suites - The Royale Parc Suites with GM Charlie Frost and Palms Hotel & Villas with GM Wade Michael.  Both of these properties are located in Kissimmee, FL and are closely located to Disney World. 

Please read the letter below sent to Charlie about the children they will be helping, followed directly by the profiles of these amazing children.

"Dear Charlie,

Thanks for taking the time to speak to me today.  Please accept this letter as our request for your help in granting the wish of an extraordinary little boy.  Joseph’s only wish is to go Orlando to visit the many theme parks!  We are hoping that you will want to participate in this special wish by donating accommodations for Joseph and his family.  [...]  I’ve also attached Teyona’s bio in case you can do one more. 

I’ve attached an information sheet on Kids Wish Network below and if you visit our website at www.kidswishnetwork.org you can find out a lot more about what we do.

[...]

Joseph is an awesome little boy who began getting very sick last March, 2010 with fevers and headaches.  After being hospitalized and given a CT scan Joseph was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia called Philadelphia Chromosome ALL.  This has to do with a chromosomal abnormality and is more difficult to treat and get under control than other leukemia’s.  Joseph recently endured a bone marrow transplant and is now having chemotherapy.  Joseph is also being closely monitored by his doctors and will continue to receive chemotherapy for quite some time. 

Despite all he has to go through, Joseph remains true to his spirit. Joseph is a brave little boy who loves Toy Story 3’s Buzz Lightyear.  Joseph likes the Dallas Cowboys football team and collects Lego’s.  His favorite color is blue and he likes to munch out on pizza and fruit. 

Kids Wish Network is a 501 C 3 non-profit organization dedicated to granting the wishes of children between the ages of 3 and 18 who are living with life threatening illnesses.  It is our mission to fulfill the last wishes of children who will never have the opportunities that most of us take for granted.  We rely on the compassion of people such as you to make their dreams come true.  The more in-kind donations we receive, the more wishes we can grant.  You hold in your hands the opportunity to make a big difference in this child’s life.

[...]

We may not be able to change Joseph’s uncertain future, but together we can make his dream come true today.  Thank you for considering our Mission worthy of your support and Joseph’s wish deserving of your participation.

For the Children,

Jill"

And here are their profiles:

I Want to Go to Disney World with my Family!

Name: Teyona
Age: 13
State: WI

Teyona is a sweet 13-year-old who loves to play music on her keyboard and read books. She enjoys cheerleading, playing with her dolls and watching “Spongebob Squarepants” on TV. Although she’s a little bit shy, Teyona is quite the performer when it comes to playing music on her keyboard.
At the age of two, Teyona was diagnosed with having the seizure disorder epilepsy. Teyona suffers from at least 10 seizures every single day and they seem to be getting worse, not better, even with medications. In fact, a terrible side effect of one of her seizure medications was that she became diabetic and must now take insulin. The seizures are affecting Teyona’s memory and cognitive abilities and her doctors have performed many tests on her. She recently went in for the first part of a two-part surgery to implant electrodes in her brain to monitor her seizures and map out her brain. Hopefully, the surgery will help her doctors understand what is causing her seizures and how to treat it more successfully.
For her wish, Teyona just wants to enjoy some time with her family at the most magical place on Earth: Disney World. Get ready to enjoy the magic, Teyona, because your wish is about to come true!

I want to meet the characters of “Toy Story!”

Name: Joseph
Age: 6
State: TX

Joseph, or Jo Jo as he is affectionately called, is a happy, brave 6-year-old little boy who absolutely loves the “Toy Story” movies. His favorite move is “Toy Story 3” and he likes to play with this Buzz Lightyear toys. Joseph collects little toy cars and Thomas the Train toys. His favorite color is blue.
In March of 2010, Joseph and his family moved from Alabama to Texas. Joseph started a new school and began to get sick all the time. He would get fevers and headaches and also began vomiting. After a trip to the doctor, a CAT scan and blood work, Joseph was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the blood. Joseph’s cancer is a rare type called Philadelphia chromosome positive leukemia, which is a high risk chromosome defect that only three percent of child patients develop. His type of cancer holds only a 20 percent survival rate and Joseph must endure many chemotherapy treatments and is currently undergoing a medical study. He has just undergone a bone marrow transplant. Both Joseph’s grandmother and uncle died of leukemia, and Joseph must be closely monitored to ensure his cancer doesn’t spread.
Because of Joseph’s love of “Toy Story,” he decided he wanted to visit the theme parks in Florida and meet the characters of his favorite movie. Get out your autograph book, Joseph, because you are getting your wish!

 

 

What an amazing thing for anyone to do.  I'm so proud that I can say that member of our team have been able to help in this way.  These trips will be wonderful memories for these 2 children that truly deserve it.  Joseph and Teyona are sincerely inspiring...and so is the gift that Royale Parc Suites and Palms Hotel and Villas is providing for them.

I hope that their family vacations are literal dreams come true!

One Day Without Shoes

Yesterday, Tuesday April 5th, our C&W Office participated in the global event One Day Without Shoes created by TOMS Shoes.  For those that do not know about TOMS, they are/were a shoe company; but according to their new press releases they are now referring to themselves as a "One for One" company.  The idea will stay the same, but I assume they will begin offering new products.  Regardless, One Day Without Shoes was a day created to share the idea that created their company and now shapes the lives of many young children around the world.  That idea is "One for One".  At TOMS, if you purchase a pair of shoes (or any piece of merchandise) a brand new pair of shoes is given to a child in need.  As a matter of fact, that is their tag line.  "With every pair you purchase TOMS will give a new pair of shoes to a child in need.  One for One."  What a creative and inventive way to help those in need.

This all brings us to our purpose on April 5th.  The entire purpose of One Day Without Shoes is what it says...to go one day without shoes.  That means living, walking, working, etc.  Everything you would normally do, you just do without shoes. 
But why?  What does it help to go without shoes for a day?  What is the point?

The point is awareness.  One Day Without Shoes is a day that doesn't ask anything of anyone except to be a part of something greater than ourselves.  No one is required to purchase anything.  No one is required to sacrifice their stretched-too-thin-as-it-is time.  We are only asked to do something a little different.  A little off-kilter?  Sure.  But isn't that the point?  People don't usually go about their everyday activities without shoes.  So when someone walks barefoot through Washington, DC - or even into their office building - people notice.  It raises curiosity, which leads to conversation, which creates awareness, which cultivates change.  But it also allows us the chance to experience a fragment of how these children live everyday.  And that, in a nutshell, is the entire purpose.

So C&W decided to participate.  And we decided to have fun with it!  The office was decorated with footprints all the way from the lobby to the conference room, down the hallway, and even up some filing cabinets.

We also had a "Shoe Daycare" where people that wanted to participate could place their shoes for the day and we would take care of them. 

Our conference room doors were transformed into our One Day Without Shoes Fact Wall.  It displayed facts about children in developing countries that have to live without shoes.

Here are a few of those facts:

• In may developing countries, children must walk without shoes for miles to school, clean water, and medical help.
• Hundreds of millions of children are at risk of injury, infection, and soil-transmitted diseases that most can't afford to prevent and treat.
• Children who are healthy are more likely to be successful students, and access to education is a critical determinant of long-term success.
• Healthy, educated children have a better chance of improving the future of their entire community.

Moving past the office decorations, let's get to the people.  We had about 12 people from the office participate by not wearing shoes throughout their workday.  We had a few others participate in their own ways (they know who they are).  But the really neat thing that happened was when we had pictures coming in from our C&W employees NOT at the office...all without shoes!
Here are some pictures of the C&W Office participants (Kelley, Dawn, Cheryl, Lori, Andrea Crawford, Genevieve, Andrea Nottingham, George, Janine, Hulda, Vicki, and Christin):

And here are our out-of-office employees:
Deirdre Holliday while she was at her HR Conference...

Lynn of the Tiburon Laundry (Royale Parc Suites in Kissimmee, FL)...

And Mark from his home office in FL...

And even on top of that, we had a few C&W family members join in on the fun.  Janine Davy's daughter, Anna had her students participate in their classroom, with their own Shoe Daycare.

WOW!!!
The participation we had in this effort was wonderful, and to be honest, a little overwhelming.  We had no idea going into this that so many people would be willing to step out of their comfort zone to get the conversation started to create awareness for the needs of others.  What an uplifting day!  It truly, truly was.

But a day later, once the pictures have been taken, and the decorations removed, the conversation still has to continue.  If we miss that key factor, we miss it all.  I genuinely felt a spirit of goodwill yesterday and I hope that we can continue that as the days pass and we put our shoes back on.  Now that we know the needs, let's keep spreading the curiosity to others so they can start talking too!