Five local children and one escort were taken on the trip of a lifetime to Disneyland last week.
The kids left on Oct. 15 and returned on Oct. 17.
The trip was funded by Dreams Take Flight, a charitable organization which flies kids facing medical, physical, social, mental or emotional challenges to Disneyland for a day. The kids must also be between the ages of six and 12.
This is the second year in a row children from Fort St. James have been sent on the trip.
This year, the trip was organized by Nezul Be Hunuyeh Child and Family Services Society, which works with both the Tl’azt’en and Nak’azdli Bands.
Anna Whitely, a family support worker for the family services society, says they worked to identify which children fit the criteria, and from there narrow down the five who would take part. In the end, they sent two children from the Tl’azt’en Band and three from the Nak’azdli Band.
The Courier first spoke to Whitely as she drove home from dropping the children off at they airport. “They’re all so excited,” she said. “They’ve been up since five a.m. this morning!”
The kids flew to Vancouver on Oct. 15, where they spent a night and attended a Meet and Greet, and then into Los Angeles (where they took a bus to Disneyland) on the 16th. At the end of the day, they flew back to Vancouver, and later arrived home on the 17th.
The kids were supplied with backpacks, clothes, a camera and footwear to use during they day at Disneyland. Whitely says the kids also received gifts and money to purchase souvenirs throughout the day.
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