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A list of foundations that help children and teens who are chronically ill, or living with a disability, achieve their dreams.
Sunshine Foundation
https://www.sunshinefoundation.org/
Sunshine Foundation’s sole purpose is to answer the dreams of chronically ill, seriously ill, physically challenged and abused children ages three to eighteen, whose families cannot fulfill their requests due to financial strain that the child’s illness may cause.(215) 396 4770
Dream Makers
https://dreammakersproject.org/
Dream Makers serves youth who have aged out of foster care or are likely to age out in the near future. Every year 23,000 teens exit the foster care system without a family to help them transition into adulthood. These youth were removed from their families, having experienced neglect, abuse, or abandonment.
no phone - see website for email.
Dream Factory: for chronically ill
https://dreamfactoryinc.org/
The Dream Factory is the largest all-volunteer driven children’s wish-granting organization that does not limit its mission to children who have life-threatening illness.
502-561-3001
Team Impact
https://www.teamimpact.org/
Team IMPACT is a national nonprofit that connects children facing serious and chronic illnesses with local college athletic teams, forming life-long bonds and life-changing outcomes.
617-801-0248 info@teamimpact.org
Make A Wish Foundation
https://wish.org/refer-a-child#sm.0000t5c2pys7gdhqrdm1aza5suhbg
Making wishes come true for children diagnosed with a critical illness, i.e., a progressive, degenerative or malignant condition that is placing the child's life in jeopardy, ages 2-18 yrs.
no phone - see website for email submission
National Park Benefits:
National Park Service: free lifetime pass to US national parks and more. There are some requirements and stipulations, so read through the application
Information on how to obtain an access pass for people with a disability to get free admission
https://store.usgs.gov/access-pass
State Park Service: state parks have a disability discount – look up your state for more information and for the application.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources (D) Discounted camping fees.
https://dnr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dnr/parks/documents/discounts-all.pdf
Must possess Illinois Disabled Person's ID card.
Dreams really do come true!
Photo, A Young Man With a Dream, by L.A. Snyder.
Photo by Aperture Vintage on Unsplash
This content is for informational purposes only and may not be comprehensive. Information contained does not imply an endorsement from Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, and does not replace the advice of a qualified healthcare professional. See here for further details.
© Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago)
Henry B. Betts LIFE Center – (312) 238-5433
