Reach For A Dream Foundation, founded in 1988, makes dreams come true for children facing life-threatening illnesses. Since inception, the Reach For A Dream has made over 30 000 dreams come true ranging from meeting personal heroes or owning something a child has always dreamed of.
Celebrating its 38th birthday at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, the foundation hosted a party to mark its special legacy of bringing joy to children and their families during their medical journeys.
Hospital CEO, Dr Nkuli Boikhutso shared her experience with the organisation, “This day is important for me because in 1997, I was a receipient of a dream from Reach For A Dream. I was more than a cancer patient, they gave me a new perspective of life. My dream come true gave me hope and today, I’m the CEO of a children’s hospital.”
“Thank you for choosing us to celebrate your birthday, congratulations on 38 years of making sure kids’ dreams come true,” Boikhutso added.
Julia Sotirianakos, Reach For A Dream’s CEO says, “We are almost four decades old, we couldn’t have done it without the love and support of all our hospitals, staff, and volunteers across the country. We do this because of our beautiful children and every day, we are reminded of our purpose.”
Attendees enjoyed magic tricks from Laughter Heroes, Uncle Black Jack, Themba Mathabela and Siya Makhubu. Everyone joined the cake cutting ceremony in song and face painting. A specially curated doughnut decorating activity and lunch drew the birthday festivities to a close.
Every day, Reach For A Dream fulfils seven dreams across the country. Help make more dreams come true by donating to the organisation. Visit www.reachforadream.org.za for more information.