September 2019 | Vol. 19 Iss. 09
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DREAM COMES TRUE
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FOR WEST JORDAN CHILD By Alison Brimley | a.brimley@mycityjournals.com
F
or his 11th birthday this year, Holland Van Gelder of West Jordan received a gift he’ll never forget. Along with his mother, 14-year-old and 18-year-old brothers, 13-year-old sister and his grandmother, Holland took a weeklong trip to Florida, where he visited Legoland, Universal Studios, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. The trip came as a gift from the Sunshine Foundation, a nonprofit organization that makes dreams come true for kids like Holland, who lives with low-functioning autism. Holland was first nominated for this trip in January 2015. His family then filled out the paperwork to formally apply for their Dream Come True trip. Since then, they’ve been on a waiting list, awaiting donations to help fund their vacation, which finally happened this August. Once Holland’s trip was funded, staff from the Sunshine Foundation worked with him to help him plan his dream vacation, which included trips to multiple Florida theme parks. “It’s just something he’s always wanted to do,” Tiffany Van Gelder said. “He wants to meet Donald Duck.” Unlike other organizations, the Sunshine Foundation doesn’t only grant wishes for children with terminal or life-threatening diagnoses. Instead, foundation officials said they aim to help children “living with life-long chronic illnesses, physical challenges, or the trauma of abuse.” These are conditions that make a vacation difficult or impossible, whether because of practical challenges or financial burdens. Founded in 1976, the organization has helped more than 40,000 children see their dreams come true. Living with low-functioning autism means that Holland
Eleven-year-old Holland Van Gelder poses with employees at Disney World. (Tiffany Van Gelder)
is often overlooked during normal school and extracurricular activities, and there often aren’t services that allow him to participate with other kids his age. Sometimes, it’s a challenge to spend more than a couple of hours at a local park. A week of amusement parks, it seems, could be a challenge for a child who, like many on the autism spectrum, struggles to deal with
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novel sensory inputs and variations from routine. Because the Sunshine Foundation caters specifically to kids with needs such as Holland’s, they are prepared for these challenges and help make accommodations for him, which is part of what makes the vacation so special. Throughout the trip, the family was accompanied by Continued page 15
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