By Shonali Banerjee and Aliza Appelbaum | GlobalGiving In-The-Field Representatives
Shonali Banerjee and Aliza Appelbaum are In-The-Field Representatives for GlobalGiving. They are visiting projects in Morocco, Spain and France. Here is their most recent "postcard" from France:
On August 10, 2012, Aliza and I had the pleasure of visiting Association Rêves at their office outside of Lyon, France. Rêves, an organization very similar to the Make A Wish Foundation, operates exclusively in France, helping seriously ill children under the age of 18 realize their dreams. We met with Aurélie Tortosa, who coordinates requests and organizes the execution of the dreams, and her colleague Virginie Degletagne, who handles administrative and accounting duties.
Unfortuantely we were not able to meet with the patients that had their dreams realized by Rêves, but we were thrilled to tour the Association's office, learn a great deal about how the organization operates and see some truly adorable photos of children's dreams coming true with trips to EuroDisney, meeting internationally known celebrities and even feeding a baby panther!
Aliza and I learned that Rêves receives hundreds of requests every year, and these "dream submissions" are realized on a rolling basis, often depending on the health of the child in question. Most of the children get to spend time at EuroDisney with members of their family, but children with very specific requests often get to meet their favorite celebrity (Celine Dion! Robert Pattinson!), take a trip to New York City, or get a kiss from a new friend at French sea world (photo below!).
Aliza and I were thrilled to hear that the Association's project "Meet Frederick Pignon" is fully funded and that the team is working tirelessly to make young Agathe's dream of meeting the famous equestrian come true as soon as possible. The ladies informed us that Agathe will in fact meet Mr. Pignon in September 2012, so we are really looking forward to seeing some wonderful photos from the visit! We also can't wait to see the wonderful projects Rêves will post in the near future!
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