We partnered with the 10th Annual  Dream Village Gala and helped raise over $100,000!

We were so happy for Kelley&rsquo;s foundation to participate in, and partner with, the 10th Annual &nbsp;Dream Village Gala which raised over $100,000!
The National Sunshine Foundation was established over 42 years ago. In those 42 years, the Sunshine Foundation has answered the dreams of more than 41,000 children with chronic illness, physical and/or mental challenges, or those children suffering from abuse.

Dream Village Gala

We sent Hannah on a trip to Disney to meet her favorite characters from Frozen!

Go, Hannah!
Hannah is an 8-year-old with down syndrome. Hannah is loved by everyone she meets as her kind heart draws everyone in. It&rsquo;s been her dream to go to Disney world and meet Elsa, Anna, and Olaf from &ldquo;Frozen&rdquo;.
With your help, we were able to fund 100% of Hannah&rsquo;s trip to Florida and Disney through&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220707082332/https://www.sunshinefoundation.org/">The Sunshine Fund&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;Adopt a Dream program. You can learn more about Hannah&rsquo;s application&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220707082332/https://adoptadream.org/campaigns/hannah/">here</a>.

Hannah's Disney Dream

With your help, we were able to fund 100% of Lucas’s Florida theme park vacation!

Congratulations Lucas!
Lucas is a 10-year-old boy who loves video games, swimming, and playing with his dog, Daisy. Lucas is diagnosed with caudal regression syndrome.
With your help, we were able to fund 100% of Lucas&rsquo;s Florida theme park vacation through&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220707081836/https://www.sunshinefoundation.org/">The Sunshine Fund&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;Adopt a Dream program. You can learn more about Lucas&rsquo;s application&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220707081836/https://adoptadream.org/campaigns/lucas/">here</a>.

Lucas from North Syracuse

<h2>Sunshine Foundation&rsquo;s Dream Village</h2>
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220707075742/https://sunshinefoundation.org/">https://sunshinefoundation.org</a>
Most of the children we serve wish to visit the Central Florida theme parks and attractions when asked the simple question: &ldquo;If you could have one dream, what would it be?&rdquo; Since this has been the #1 dream request every year, the Dream Village was built in 1989 and officially opened in January 1990. We fly the child and their entire immediate family to Orlando for an all-expenses-paid Once-In-A-Lifetime vacation away from their routine of hospitals, therapies, and medical treatments. We supply airfare, theme park tickets, rental vehicle, lodging and expense money for food and souvenirs. The families enjoy LEGOLAND Florida, SeaWorld,&nbsp;Walt Disney World and/or Universal Orlando each day, then return to the Dream Village to relax in their peaceful but magical cottage. The Dream Village is a 22-acre resort nestled in a fairy tale setting and offers amenities and activities including a swimming pool, playground, and miniature golf course, all specially designed to be accessible for wheelchairs and other special needs. Each cottage has a unique and magical theme designed especially for children. Since its opening, the Dream Village has welcomed over 20,000 children!

The Kelley Syron Sunshine Foundation is Partnering with a National Non-Profit Organization

The Kelley Syron Sunshine Fund Helps Chessie and the Kids!

Family Recreation Area at Lee District Park 6601 Telegraph Road in Franconia near Springfield.
Unlike anything in Fairfax County or the metropolitan area, this outdoor recreation area will engage children in&nbsp;physical activity and spark their imaginations with creative play. This magical place will bring families together with&nbsp;old-fashioned and thoroughly modern play elements that are accessible to everyone. The fundraising has begun for a&nbsp;new fully accessible park-Chessie&rsquo;s Big Backyard . The playground will be located at Lee District Park between the&nbsp;popular newly installed Our Special Harbor sprayground and the treehouse.
The addition of Chessie&rsquo;s Big Backyard playground will make the Family Recreation Area a unique destination point for&nbsp;families of the entire metro area. Children with special needs will enjoy the camaraderie of typically developing children&nbsp;as they use their wheelchairs or other assistive devices to swing, slide and &lsquo;climb&rsquo; along side their friends and siblings.
Suzan Syron, owner of The Children&rsquo;s Therapy Center, will be expanding the memorial fund she originally set up for her&nbsp;daughter, Kelley Syron, as she partners with Fairfax County Park Foundation.
Now YOU can be part of this unique project! To complete this exceptional area, we need help&nbsp;from the entire community to help fund the construction of the Playground, Family Picnic Area and Carousel.
The Chessie&rsquo;s BIG backyard playground campaign is underway!

Chessie’s Big Backyard

We donated horses to the new carousel at Chessie’s Big Backyard.

We were so proud to have donated horses to the new carousel at Chessie&rsquo;s Big Backyard.
Kelley&rsquo;s sister, Mackenzie, had an opportunity to deliver a speech dedicated to Kelley before the ribbon cutting ceremony. She made us all very proud of the work we&rsquo;re doing in honor of Kelley!

Chessie’s Carousel

Karter and his family were the winners of the 2016 Kelley Syron Beach Vacation.

Karter and his family were the winners of the 2016 Kelley Syron Beach Vacation!
We sent Karter on an&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220707075710/https://autismontheseas.com/">Autism on the Seas</a>&nbsp;cruise vacation. Autism on the Seas cruise lines accommodate adults and families living with children with Special Needs, including, but not limited to, Autism, Asperger Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Tourette Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and all Cognitive, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Here are a few photos from their trip:

Karter H. and Family

We were honored for our efforts on Chessie’s Big Back Yard.

We saw Chessie&rsquo;s Big Back Yard as an incredible step forward for creating an inclusive&nbsp;play environment for children. KSSF saw a need to contribute in any way possible&mdash;primarily helping fund some of the park&rsquo;s development.
For that, we were honored with the 2015 Eakin Philanthropy&nbsp;award. We&rsquo;re so grateful&nbsp;for the recognition, and hope everyone can enjoy the new park facilities. And when we say&nbsp;everyone&nbsp;we mean it!

KSSF Recieves 2015 Eakin Philanthropy Award

We sent Christopher, a 6 year old child with cerebral palsy, his family and a caregiver to Disney!

Christopher a 6-year-old child with cerebral palsy, along with his mom, grandma, cousin and a caregiver were the recipients of this year&rsquo;s Disney Trip. They spent an all-expense week at Disney

Christopher & Family

John was the lucky recipient of the 2013 Kelley Syron Sunshine beach vacation.

Congratulations to John G and his family. John is the lucky recipient of this year&rsquo;s beach vacation. John is 5 years old and has a diagnosis of muscular dystrophy!

John G & Family

We helped open the new Nautical Cove at Chessie’s Big Backyard!

We donated to the second phase of Chessie&rsquo;s Big Back Yard: Nautical Cove&mdash;a pirate ship themed playground designed to include children with special needs.

Chessie’s Nautical Cove

Austin and his two brothers, sister, mom, and dad, were the lucky recipients of this year’s KSSF vacation to Disney World.

Austin and his two brothers, sister, mom, and dad, were the lucky recipients of this year&rsquo;s KSSF vacation to Disney World. All 5 of them boarded a non-stop flight to Orlando for 5 days and stayed in a beautiful 4 bedroom villa a few minutes away from the park. The vacation included airfare, tickets to all the theme parks, a daily meal stipend and lots of other extras. In addition to Kelley&rsquo;s annual beach vacations, Disney World was also one of her favorite family vacations.
Below are a few of the family&rsquo;s happy moments. Austin, who has autism, thoroughly enjoyed his vacation. He and Kelley were great friends!

Austin & Family

The Kelley Syron Sunshine Fund helps open the new Tiki Village in Chessie’s Big Backyard.

The Kelley Syron Sunshine Fund helps open the new Tiki Village in Chessie&rsquo;s Big Backyard.

Chessie’s Tiki Village

Hayden and his family who were the lucky recipients of our first sponsored beach vacation!

Congratulations to Hayden and his family who were the lucky recipients of the first beach vacation sponsored by the Kelley Syron Sunshine Fund!
Hayden, his parents, and his grandmother enjoyed a fun-filled week at Ocean City from May 28th thru June 4th. The weather was full of sunshine with not a drop of rain on any of the days.
Hayden arrived at the three-bedroom oceanfront condo and was welcomed with a table full of treats inclusive of a beautiful fruit arrangement by Edible Arrangements, sand toys, caramel popcorn, saltwater taffy, t-shirts, sweatshirts, beach blankets, kites, and gift certificates galore for amusement parks, beach chair/umbrella rentals, swimming lessons, firework display and daily lunches and dinners at some of the best places in town.
Check out the wonderful pictures that Hayden&rsquo;s family supplied. From what Hayden&rsquo;s mom told us it was everything that Kelley loved: beach, sunshine and great family times.
Special thanks to a very dear family who donated their condo for the week: Jocelyn and Skip Newcomb whose daughter Erica was my patient many years ago. Their friendship and loyalty to The Children&rsquo;s Therapy Center continued years after Erica had grown to adulthood. Jocelyn helped organize many of the daily activities.

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