Mid Ulster families encouraged to register for dream holiday for sick children

A young student from Mid-Ulster is encouraging families who have children who suffer from life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses to register for their chance to go on a dream holiday to Florida.
Niamh on the trip last year with one of the childrenNiamh on the trip last year with one of the children
Niamh on the trip last year with one of the children

Niamh Scullion from Magherafelt volunteered last year with the Caudwell Children charity to accompany and assist families on the holiday of a lifetime to Florida.

Destination Dreams is an organised holiday to Disney World, Florida, for children fighting life threatening illnesses. Every child has a terminal prognosis or a severely life limiting or threatening condition. The children are accompanied by their immediate family.

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Speaking about her experience as a volunteer on the trip last year, Niamh described it as ‘an unforgettable experience.’

“It was an amazing experience! Even as a volunteer I felt like I enjoyed it as much as the families if not more. As a volunteer you get to spend time with different families every day, which is lovely as you get to learn about each child and their family, it is great fun. I loved interacting with the kids and playing with them.”

The 20-year-old Businness student at Queens University said she enjoyed the experience so much she is going to apply again this year to be a volunteer,

Niamh said she would love to see families from Mid-Ulster and Northern Ireland to register to go on the trip. “I think it is an amazing opportunity and seeing first hand how much the families enjoyed it while they were there made me realise how great a scheme it is.

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“It is stress free for the families, there is always lots of volunteers there able to help out and they can interact with other families who are in a similar position to them.

“It would be great to see more families from Mid-Ulster there next year, there was one family from Northern Ireland on the trip last year so it would be great to have more from here.”

Applications must be submitted no later than 5:00pm on Friday 13th February 2015. This year’s trip will take place from Sunday 29th November –Tuesday 8th December. For further information and an application pack please call 0845 300 1348 and ask to speak to the Applications team. Alternatively you can apply online.