What started out as a charity founded in a storage room of a central Florida hotel 20 years ago has blossomed into a resort destination for children facing life-threatening illnesses, thanks in part to the gifts of the amusement industry.

“Not a single theme park came to us and said, ‘Stop.’ Never. They keep saying we want to serve more,” recalled founder Henri Landwirth as the 20th anniversary of Give Kids The World kicked off. Founder’s Day at the Give Kids The World Village is meaningful for two reasons. Not only is March 7 the date that Landwirth began to grant the wishes of special children, it’s also his birthday.

Like the children Give Kids The World serves, Landwirth had one wish on his 79th birthday: to spend the day making memories with children.

“It is extremely important for me to be with the families,” Landwirth said passionately as children and their families from all 50 states, Canada, and the United Kingdom gathered together at the Village in Kissimmee, Florida, for a birthday that began at dawn and continued well after dusk.

A New Face
Among the festivities was the introduction of a new friend to the Village, joining Mayor Clayton and Ms. Merry.

Murphy, a gingerbread man, is the newest goodwill ambassador, and is named for longtime GKTW finance employee Janan Murphy, who is battling a life-threatening illness. Following his introduction, Murphy greeted the children with warm hugs.

Murphy was introduced to the Village with much fanfare. In the warm morning sun, with the Gingerbread House Restaurant appropriately serving as a backdrop, Wish children huddled together to witness a world record—the largest gingerbread man ever made. “I want to take it home with me!” squealed 5-year-old Wish child Raheam Roberson from Texas.

Towering 16 feet high, the gingerbread man consisted of 360 pounds of flour, 108 pounds of sugar, and 120 pounds of icing. Upon certification, Guinness World Records will include the feat in its next record book. The new record crumbles the old benchmark of 372.13 pounds.

That wasn’t the only larger-than-life presentation that day. All along the Avenue of Miracles, Wish children woke up to find hundreds of colorful squares the size of a doormat lining the pavement, leading to something special.

“We’ve been inspired by the children of the Village for a special edition of Candy Land,” proclaimed Karen Davis, vice president of community relations for the Hasbro toy company.

With two costumed candy canes looking on, Davis debuted a new Candy Land board game featuring the icons of the Give Kids The World Village. Depicted are the House of Hearts welcome center, Ice Cream Palace, and Magic Mushroom Castle.

“The icons [of the Village] are already similar to the game boards. So for us, it was an easy adaptation, because the Village is sort of the real ‘Candy Land,’” Davis said.

Using the giant colorful squares, Wish children then began playing the world’s largest Candy Land game around the same buildings that are now represented on the special edition of the game.

Seeing her son, Roman, run around the game board brought tears to Michelle Holden’s eyes. “This is awesome,” she said. “We’ve been able to feel comfortable being away from our doctors.” Four-year-old Roman is doing well after receiving a liver transplant. Roman and the other Wish children who took part will receive their own Give Kids The World Candy Land games in the mail.

A Visit from a Star
Playing with families throughout the morning was longtime Give Kids The World supporter and actor John Stamos. “The thing I like about this place is kids can look around and see some kid in a similar situation,” he said.

Stamos is a self-proclaimed “Disney geek,” and visits Orlando often. While he’s in town, he also volunteers at the Village. “It’s a privilege to be part of this organization,” he said, smiling.

The morning soon faded into afternoon, as families retreated to Orlando’s theme parks or their villas for rest and relaxation. This gave the Give Kids The World staff a chance to be honored at a special luncheon.

When night fell, the Village came alive for a VIP dinner reception. Give Kids The World sponsors and supporters gathered along the Avenue of Miracles for dinner and dancing with Wish children.

The Village took on a whole new light, literally, after Universal Orlando hung theatrical lighting to illuminate each landmark in red, yellow, and green.

One of the brightest stars was Tempra Rose Hausken. Dressed in her princess gown, the 8-year-old had her wish granted in July 2005 but became too ill to travel. “Her life expectancy is very short,” said Tempra Rose’s mother, Candy.

Tempra Rose made up for lost time by dancing the night away with her 3-yearold brother, Drew, and her nurse. “Here, she doesn’t feel any pain. She gets up at 5 o’clock every morning here,” Candy said. “She is on a run until 8 o’clock at night. She doesn’t stop!”

Disney’s Chip and Dale didn’t stop either as they danced with Wish children, while a costumed Shamu from SeaWorld signed autographs before Scooby Doo from Universal Studios led the group in a Founder’s Day tradition: dancing the Cha Cha Slide.

The evening came to an end as Henri Landwirth pulled on stage the two men whom he credits with establishing the organization 20 years ago. Dick Nunis, retired president of Walt Disney World, and Bob Gault, current president and CEO of Universal Orlando and former CEO of SeaWorld Orlando, were honored for sharing Landwirth’s vision when Landwirth walked into their offices in 1986 and asked for help.

“They were the very first people Henri went to. What would have happened if Henri walked in and asked either one of these gentlemen and they just said, ‘No?’” said Give Kids The World President Pam Landwirth. “We just wouldn’t be here.”

To date, almost 75,000 children have experienced complementary admission to Walt Disney World and SeaWorld thanks to Nunis and Gault. Universal Orlando joined the partnership upon opening in 1990. “Henri, you should be so proud of what you created,” Gault said. “You’re just an absolute miracle man.”

As Give Kids The World enters its 20th year, the same founding principals Henri Landwirth established in 1986 will continue: No wish child will ever be turned away. Meanwhile, Henri made one more wish himself.

“I hope I can be here every year on my birthday as long as I live,” he said with a laugh. “I never felt this good in my whole life as I feel right now.”