The Big Island’s A Dream Come True organization is celebrating its 30th birthday by giving gifts to others.
Dormant for years and revived in 2013, the group, which grants wishes to terminally ill children and children with chronic diseases, is beginning to plan for the future. After hosting a number of awareness-raising events and ice cream parties to let people know A Dream Come True was returning to action, organizers say fundraising is the next goal.
After all, there are more dreams out there.
Lloyd Narimatsu, pastor of program sponsor Heritage Christian Fellowship, has been involved from the beginning, when the Hawaii County Fire Department first raised money to form A Dream Come True. Though similar to the national Make-A-Wish program, A Dream Come True is just for Big Island keiki.
Founders Nelson Tsuji and Laurence Balberde “felt they wanted to do something to help the community,” Narimatsu said. In its early days, the group (with help from major sponsors KTA Super Stores and Pint-Size Corp.) became known for its all-you-can-eat ice cream parties, which drew thousands of people and helped dozens of children see their dreams come true.
There was a family’s Christmas trip to Honolulu, so they could be with their child at Kapiolani Medical Center. There were trips to Disney World, Disneyland and neighbor islands and a meet-and-greet with wrestling celebrity Hulk Hogan in Los Angeles.
Narimatsu said the organization has helped 78 children in the past 30 years.
In 1986, Charles Pedro, a Kona teen with muscular dystrophy, was granted the first-ever dream. He asked that it go to his younger brother, Clifford, who also had muscular dystrophy.
Clifford in turn received a color TV, VCR and a collection of tapes.
One terminally ill boy asked for a washing machine and dryer for his mother, a single parent who had no car and had to walk to the laundromat to wash her son’s clothes.
“So selfless,” said Susan Segawa, a Dream Come True coordinator.
“Kids are like that,” Narimatsu said. “Pure hearts.”
Yet being part of the organization can be bittersweet, when dream recipients pass away.
“It’s hard on the heart,” Narimatsu acknowledged. But being able to make a difference in a family’s life and granting wishes is “a feeling that cannot be described,” he said. “Just the joy.”
Corrine Kalani of Kurtistown remembers reading articles about A Dream Come True when the organization was first starting out, well before daughter Lindsey, now 19, was born.
This summer, Lindsey became the newest dream recipient: She and her parents traveled to Aulani, a Disney resort on Oahu, so Lindsey could meet Mickey and Minnie.
The Kalanis haven’t taken a vacation since Lindsey was born with chylothorax, which causes lymph fluid to leak into the space around the lungs. One of her lungs had an extra artery. She had her first open-heart surgery at 6 days old at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.
Lindsey participates in Hilo’s American Heart Association walk every year. Last year, A Dream Come True handed out balloons and Corrine Kalani spoke to then-coordinator Gail Kimura about the group.
“I thought, ‘It doesn’t hurt to apply,’” Kalani remembered. “Especially because it’s Big Island.”
When they found out the news, she and her husband, Charlie, decided to make their trip to Oahu completely doctor-free, unlike their usual trips to the island.
“We’re just thankful for the opportunity,” she said.
For more information about A Dream Come True, email Susan Segawa at adct.bigisland@gmail.com.
A Dream Come True is a nonprofit organization.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.