May04VillageNews

In April, Give Kids The World honored its “angels” during the Village’s volunteer appreciation week. Although GKTW hopes its volunteers always feel appreciated, this special holiday highlighted the impact of the many caring individuals and organizations that contribute time and talents to the Village’s mission.

Volunteers have been an integral part of Give Kids The World since its inception. When Henri Landwirth founded GKTW in 1986, he turned to Henrietta Finkelstein and a senior citizens group from the Jewish Community Center in Central Florida to greet children with life-threatening illnesses and their families when they arrived at the Orlando International Airport. Landwirth says they helped create the personal relationships with families in the first days, a spirit that still marks all phases of the GKTW experience.

As the Village has grown in size and in the number of activities offered to its guests, the volunteer program also has evolved. Today, more than 2,000 volunteers ensure that the 51-acre, nonprofit resort operates efficiently and that GKTW compassionately serves its guests. Volunteers are visible in every aspect of the Village, and they perform many essential tasks. Whether they play roles that have direct contact with GKTW guests or they work on administrative projects behind the scenes, the volunteers share one common responsibility: to make dreams come true for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

Each week, the GKTW angels fill an average of 997 four-hour shifts to run the Village. In 2003, the volunteers contributed an estimated 207,376 hours of service, valued at approximately $3,430,000. (According to the Points of Light Foundation, an authority on volunteerism, the dollar value of a service hour is $16.54, considering the wages and benefits that would need to be paid within the U.S. independent sector.)

Every program at the Village requires volunteer assistance. Some of the highest-volume duties are delivering surprise gifts to the family villas (100,000 hours annually), serving meals in the Gingerbread House (87,600 hours annually), and coordinating activities in the Amberville Train Station/Arcade (52,000 hours annually). Other regular volunteer tasks include serving treats at the Ice Cream Palace, performing as costumed characters, operating attractions such as the carousel and Big Blue Train, and teaching parents how to operate video cameras (loaned free of charge).

Many employees from Central Florida theme parks and attractions help in daily volunteer roles, as well as offer expertise for GKTW board leadership, landscape workdays, procurement sourcing, design and maintenance of Village facilities, and special entertainment. GKTW also welcomes the assistance of any IAAPA members when they’re in the Orlando area for vacations, conventions, or other business. The Village especially needs the contributions of skilled industry craftsmen who can provide talents such as artistic painting, carpentry, arcade/video game repair, and general maintenance. If an IAAPA member plans to be in Orlando and would like to volunteer, please call the Village ahead of your trip so we plan an effective use of your time.

The GKTW volunteer efforts are beyond measure, in terms of the endless smiles and countless laughter they help to create. Kindness is abundant at the Village, and the GKTW guests will never forget it, as explained in this excerpt from a family letter:

“To make a long story short…we finally came to your magical resort. We laughed, and we even cried a lot while we were there. The good news is we cried tears of joy and happiness, in stark contrast to the many sadly bitter tears of the past year. Months of pent up frustration and sadness melted away as we played, danced, sang, loved, and enjoyed a week’s worth of childhood delights. Our only regret is that we can’t be lifetime residents. When we left we took home the most prized souvenir of all—a legacy of love, given to us by all the hearts and hands who made our trip not only possible but the most memorable of our lives. Please know as our gift to you, the legacy of love will continue to live on as we search out ways to serve others as we remember the gift of love given to us during the most wonderful week of our lives.”