Give Kids The World Village (GKTW) is an 89-acre, nonprofit resort in Florida that provides a special vacation home for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. GKTW provides 166 fully-furnished villas at its resort, donated attractions tickets, meals and more for a week-long, cost-free fantasy vacation. With the help of many generous individuals, corporations and partnering wish-granting organizations, GKTW has welcomed more than 193,000 families from all 50 states and 77 countries.
With its neatly manicured lawns, colorful duplexes and playful, whimsical buildings, it looks more like a make-believe suburban development than an all-inclusive resort. Give Kids The World Village is both… and neither. It is a non-profit Village where children, whose last Wish is to visit central Florida’s theme parks, stay with their families for the time of their lives.
How This Orlando Charity Gives Kids The World
Give Kids The World Village accommodates these kids with handicap-accessible homes that sleep up to 7, plus one baby in a crib. They provide supervised on-site activities designed to make travel easy for children with a variety of disabilities. Once these children have been identified by a wish-granting organization that provides airfare, Give Kids The World Village fulfills the “Wish” of a lifetime.
During the day, the families visit world-famous attractions and theme parks of Central Florida. In the evening, they return to a Village teeming with themed parties, events and surprises. Delighting all members of the families are events such as the “Village Idol” weekly talent show, horseback riding and playing Candy Land on the world’s largest version of the game at Matthew’s Boundless Playground.
GKTW Works Magic on All Its Visitors
One of the magical moments enjoyed by children visiting GKTW is personalizing their gold star and placing it in the Castle of Miracles and the Star Tower. Their twinkling star remains always, and is a symbol of their light. In honor of the 30th anniversary of GLTW in 2016, a special song “When a Wish Becomes a Star,” was created by composer Rick McKee. The reimagined experience is more interactive now, with animation, charactes and a soundtrack in four languages.
The Gallery of Hope visitor center is a tribute to the founder. It also honors corporate sponsors like Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, Walmart, Hasbro and individual donors. In 2023, Olivia’s Oasis opened to provide spa and relaxation services to adults thanks to family donors.
New initiatives continue, and in addition to building more units for its guests, there is also talk of expanding the successful GKTW model to another venue, perhaps southern California.
Volunteers at Give Kids the World
More than 1,400 volunteer shifts are needed to keep up the great work at GKTW, and, to-date, over 3 million volunteer hours have been logged. Volunteers greet anxious families at the airport, because more than 80% of families living with traumatic illness never have an opportunity to travel at all. Upon arrival to the Village, volunteers also check-in the families, help them settle into one of the 168 onsite villas, deliver meals, and provide evening entertainment and activities.
Volunteer opportunities keep expanding, so that even visiting conventioneers and vacationing families can schedule a day to help out and give back. Click here to check out volunteer opportunities and procedures.
Additionally, Give Kids The World Village welcomes more than 20 colleges each year for Alternative Spring Break, a week of volunteering instead of the traditional spring break experience.
Contact Give Kids the World for More Info
The Give Kids The World Village is located in central Florida at 210 South Bass Road, Kissimmee, FL 34746. For more information about making a contribution and the many ways in which your family can become volunteers, call their offices at 800/995-KIDS or visit Give Kids the World online.
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Wow, that’s a great list. The Free Tours By Foot sounds amazing and such a great way to explore a city. Have you guys ever tried indoor skydiving? It’s not cheap, but it’s a great activity for the whole family. Some of the centers even offer a Virtual Reality experience. With more and more tunnels popping up it’s become quite easy to find a spot nearby. For those interested check out dropzone.com/indoor/ . They’ve got a nifty tunnel finder.
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Thank you for putting together a list for Fall vacation. It is so informative and exciting. We love the nature! We should be planning a trip to Aspen Mountain, Colorado soon. The infographic on emergency is so well done and very handy for travelers.
visiting california is always enjoyable. thanks for sharing your feelings about california. Have traveled any other countries? I’ve been travelling for last 2 years and I would like to share some of my great experinces with you. do you accept guest post?
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First of all, you need to find out what type of vacation each member of your family prefers. At lunch, dinner, or watching your favorite TV show in the evening, try discussing your upcoming vacation together. Listen to suggestions from everyone, remember where you have already visited and, taking into account the interests of the child, try to choose the right direction. It should be borne in mind all the details: the possibility of excess spending, the size of the vacation budget, the presence of health problems, interests, hobbies and hobbies. If you are organizing a trip with your child, you will have a wonderful joint vacation!
NYC is a great place to celebrate Halloween, and good opportunities for celebrity sightings too!
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The moon landing marked the culmination of America’s Cold War human spaceflight program and positioned itself as a global leader in science and technology. Apollo 11, the mission Armstrong and Aldrin flew with colleague Michael Collins, represented the U.S. accomplishing a seemingly impossible goal on a seemingly impossible timeline. Fifty years later, the world is remembering the historic mission and its impact on society and science, thanks to all these 50 COSMIC WAYS TO CELEBRATE SPACE.
I am also a collector of space memorabilia and I run a website dedicated to Space Exploration memorabilia https://www.space-collectibles.com . In fact, I leave in Paris, France. (Yes, that does mean I drink too much wine and eat too much cheese) . Since the age of 21, I became a big fan of Space Exploration as I studied in Cap Canaveral Florida, and worked with the engineers that put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon. So, this is perhaps the reason why I became a pasionate Space Collectioner of photos from the space race in the 60’s from Nasa and Soviet programs. I whish I could be in all these 50 COSMIC WAYS TO CELEBRATE SPACE
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Hey thanks for such a nice article, there is nothing better than getting away with the fam or group of mates into the wilderness and just relaxing while staring into those embers. I go camping regularly and I know you stated unplugged but if you dont play an instrument I highly recommend bringing along a nice loud Bluetooth speaker to jam away with all of you friends into the late night. That and beer ofcourse.
Thanks again and keep up the good work
Hershey is such a fun town to visit with so many family-friendly activities. We loved driving up to spend the weekend when we lived in Maryland.
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Doing so saves money on your shipping costs. Most travelers are charged for gas as they are free. Tourists save money on car rentals and pay for their travels.