Guest blog – Help Fill a Dream (celebrating their 10 years with the Victoria Foundation)
By Craig Smith, Executive Director, Help Fill A Dream Foundation
Bringing Dreams to Life: The Heart of the Help Fill A Dream Foundation
Since 1986, Help Fill A Dream has been making life a little easier for Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands’ children with life-threatening conditions. Our mission is simple: to inspire hope and happiness by making dreams come true and to provide much needed support to families, allowing parents to focus on the health and well-being of their child. Through two main programs – Family Assistance and Dreams, we have assisted nearly 4,000 local children up to the age of nineteen. The Family Assistance program serves as a lifeline when families need it most by offering practical and financial support to alleviate the burden of medical expenses. Dreams represent hope and have tangible benefits, improving the overall well-being and health outcomes of the children we assist.
The story of nine-year old Eric illustrates the long-term bond we build with our kids and their families. We first met Eric when he was less than a year old in BC Children’s Hospital awaiting open heart surgery to correct his critical aortic stenosis. Eric later suffered a stroke which led to a series of reoccurring hospitalizations, additional surgeries, and years of various therapies. Help Fill A Dream has been with Eric at each step, initially providing funding through the Family Assistance program to cover travel, accommodation and other expenses the family incurred. Most recently, we assisted the family with the cost of speech therapy.
Eric’s dad, Colin, relates the story of what this time was like for the family. Tears fill his eyes when he remembers the monthly support he received from Help Fill A Dream. “We learned of Eric’s condition within hours of his birth. To hear your son has a critical heart condition was incredibly overwhelming. It was really touch and go for the first few days after his birth but an initial surgery stabilized him until he could grow and become stronger. The massive stroke was probably the lowest point of our lives but with continued support, Eric is making an incredible recovery. The money was one thing but the fact that we knew someone cared about us and what we were experiencing meant the world to us. There are no words to express our gratitude for the fact that nine years later Help Fill A Dream is still assisting us with therapies to improve Eric’s quality of life,” said Colin.
Planning his Dream trip to Disney World since he was five became a much welcome diversion from Eric’s ongoing medical routines and it became a touchstone for the entire family. “This Dream means we can temporarily put behind us the stress of managing Eric’s condition to focus on having fun as a family,” said Colin. Eric’s family took his Dream trip in March 2024.
We are continually searching for ways to extend our support. Our Hosted Organization Fund at the Victoria Foundation was established ten years ago to create a sustainable source of permanent income to support our programming. This fund has now become the source of funding for our Rick Thomas Memorial Scholarship which was created three years ago to pay homage to our founder, BC Transit driver Rick Thomas. The scholarship, awarded annually, provides $3,500 to a Help Fill A Dream child (or their immediate family member) to assist in their pursuit of post-secondary education. From the beginning, the staff at the Victoria Foundation have been incredibly helpful and knowledgeable which made the process very easy. The addition of this scholarship program is significant for our families who have sacrificed so much along the way. Raising a child who needs specialized health supports requires everything parents can give, and more.
To learn more about Help Fill A Dream, please visit us at helpfilladream.com
