2022 In Retrospect: Another Great Year
Happy New Year! 2022 was a magical year for many, many Dream Kids – and that’s because of kindness like yours! Because of you we were able to make a Dream come true for 44 kids in 2022!
Pictured: The Bonafide Team held a launch party for The 2022 Dream Book at their office!
We started 2022 on a high note – coming out of December after breaking fundraising records with the 2021 Dream Book! This was only possible because of supporters like yourself, and our sponsors at Bonafide Construction Solutions.
In 2022, the Dream Book was BACK! We teamed up with Bonafide again, and they pledged to match the first $30,000 raised through the 2022 Dream Book.
We had a blast at the 2022 Dream Maker Auction back in April. This was the in-person return of our flagship event, and it was a HIT! Raising over $700,000, our beautiful Dream Community came together in support of so many Dreams last year.
Pictured: Radio host Mark Morris on 100.5 FM morning show emceed the 2022 Dream Maker Auction.
In September, The Dream Factory honoured and said farewell to our previous Executive Director, Howard Koks. Howard’s last seven years with The Dream Factory have been full of great times, and we wish Howard a wonderful retirement. In turn, we welcomed our new Executive Director, Andrew Kussy! Andrew is excited to work with the community to continue bringing Dreams to life for kids in Manitoba with life-threatening illnesses.
Pictured: Josh Morrissey greeted Dream Kid Cody and his family at the golf tournament.
This past Fall, our community came together again to hit some golf balls and make some Dreams come true at the 2022 Josh Morrissey Classic. Josh and his wife, Margot, joined in and hung out with some Dream Kids, making the day extra special for them! All in all, the day raised a record-breaking $191,527! Josh has been an integral part of our Dream Factory Family and has made many special Dream moments a reality – including for Cayden, whose Jets Practice Dream became a reality in November!
Dream Kid Cayden and his brother joined the Winnipeg Jets for practice in November of this year. They got to skate side by side with Josh and the Jets and the next day at the game, Cayden sat on the bench during warmup!
Before the game, Josh told Cayden he would score a goal for him - and wouldn’t you know it, Josh scored the game-winning goal in overtime! Cayden was over the moon, what a spectacular Dream come true!
Last year, we were fortunate to see the return of travel-related Dreams! One magical Dream come true was Hazel’s trip to Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios. She and her sister had a blast with their parents at all the parks, especially the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, where Hazel got a ‘Hazelwood’ wand - the perfect souvenir! Another highlight for Hazel was sitting in the splash zone at the SeaWorld orca show - of course she got soaked!
We were blessed to work with our community to hold a number of third-party events in support of Dream Kids. The 2022 Great Skate SMASHED their fundraising goal in February in support of Rylyn’s Dream Come True. Dream Kid Rylyn even joined us on the ice and we were so thankful that she could meet some of the folks that supported her Dream trip to Hawaii.
Pictured: Aria and Brie had a blast with their family on their Disney Dream Trip!
Dream Kids and sisters Aria and Brie both experienced incredible Dreams last year as well! A princess in her own right, Aria’s parents knew her Dream would be Disney - and in April, Aria’s Dream came true! She and her family loved Disney World and Give Kids the World - they loved hanging out by the pool and trying out different rides. In November, Brie received a Dream swim spa in her own backyard! Since then, she and her family have been enjoying their time in the hot water during these cold days.
Remembering back to 2021, Aria and Brie’s Dreams were supported by Dream Ride! 2022’s Dream Ride built on the success of the last two years, surpassing their fundraising goal to raise funds for Maiya and Rainey’s Dreams! Walkers and Riders took to the paths around Clear Lake and finished the day with a fabulous celebratory lunch. Rainey and Maiya were both able to take in the festivities and enjoy the support of the Dream Ride’s amazing community. Plans are already in progress for year 4 and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish!
Pictured: Dream Kid Rainy and his friends had a blast at Dream Ride 2022, meeting all the riders and walkers who came out to support him.
Pictured: Lifters cheer on Dream Kid Ethan as he raises the bar at Deadlifts for Dreams 4.
Another special moment in 2022 was at Deadlifts for Dreams 4 – young Dream Kid Ethan came out and tried a Deadlift with the strongest of lifters! This wonderful community came together for a 4th year of lifting to support Ethan’s Dream come true with a family fun-filled day. There was face painting, lawn games, princesses, superheroes, and a BBQ lunch! We already can’t wait for next year’s event!
Pictured: Maya and her sister all made up as princesses at The Rockin’ Spa at Give Kids the World
Back in 2019, the first ever Deadlifts for Dreams event was supporting Maya’s Dream - and in 2022, her Dream came true! She and her family had an awesome time at Give Kids The World, watching movies by the pool and eating ice cream, they got the royal treatment! Which included a princess makeover for Maya and her sister, complete with hair, makeup, and the most beautiful princess dresses. Maya’s mom shared with us that on the trip, they made memories that would last a lifetime.
Although we saw the return of travel-related Dreams this year, we still got lots of requests for more locally-based Dreams as well. One VERY exciting Dream was Cody’s. He loves playing games at the arcade, but due to his illness, he’s had to spend more time in the hospital and less time playing games. For his Dream, The Dream Factory teamed up with Zoe Henry Designs and Paragon Living to build Cody an arcade in his very own basement! Now he and his brother can play all the hoop shot, skee ball, and air hockey they want - whenever they want! This Dream wouldn’t be possible without the incredible folks at Princess Auto, raised an incredible amount to bring Cody’s Dream to life!
Pictured: Cody and his brother have been playing games (both arcade and video games!) in their arcade basement nonstop!
We met so many incredibly brave and strong Dream Kids with endlessly creative Dreams! But we wouldn’t be able to make any of them come true without you – THANK YOU!
While we made 44 Dreams come true last year, we also met over 40 new incredible Dream Kids. With your continued support and kindness, we can continue to bring Dreams to life for the Dream Kids whom you are helping.
Pictured: A handful of Dream Kids got to sit in on a Jets practice one Saturday - Josh Morrissey met with each of them afterwards and answered all sorts of hockey questions.