To help make a dream come true for a chronically ill child, all you have to do is play a game of kickball.
The Dream Factory of Syracuse is hosting its fourth annual Kicks for Kids Kickball Tournament Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Syracuse Kickball Park on Oswego Road in Liverpool. The co-ed tournament, which begins at 10 a.m., lasts all day and features food, games and live entertainment (donated by RMD Premier DJ Ryno), as well as raffles, a silent auction, a dunk tank and a bounce house for kids.
The Dream Factory is a local organization dedicated to making dreams come true for critically and chronically ill children in Onondaga, Oswego, Cayuga and Madison counties. It’s run entirely by volunteers who understand the pressures of living with children.
“Many of us can relate to the stress that comes with raising a family these days — keeping up with the needs of your children, their schedules and trying to find time just to bond,” said Erin Wisneski, public relations chair for the Dream Factory of Syracuse. “These families have the added struggle of trying to keep their child healthy, getting to doctor’s appointments, making sure medication is provided, finding and praying for answers. That puts a lot of stress on every family member. By granting the child’s dream, it takes the focus off their illness, and it may only be for a moment, but that can go a long way in rejuvenating every member of the family.”
Since the organization formed locally in 2012, it has granted five dreams, and four more are in the works. Among them are Sophia’s of Canastota, who has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, will be going to the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland in August, and Amelia’s of Auburn, who has Chiari malformation, a birth defect that affects the brain and spinal cord, will meet We Are Kings singer and fellow brain surgery survivor Charles Trippy in September.
The kickball tournament will help fund those dreams, plus provide what Wisneski called “a great team-building opportunity for groups” and a “healthy spirit of competition.”
“We started the kickball tournament in 2012. It was one of our first fundraisers,” she said. “The reason is pretty simple — several of our board members, including myself, had played in a kickball league since 2004. Kickball is a fun, team sport. No equipment is needed, there is little risk of injury and it’s very inclusive — practically everyone can play.”
And you don’t even have to come up with a full team to play.
“We will place single players with an entire team,” Wisneski said. “In fact, the Dream Factory has a team each year and having the extra single players has allowed us to create two teams representing Dream Factory. It creates a little rivalry for our board members — all in good fun, of course.”
Of course, teams are welcome. You need at least 10 people to fully field a team; you can play with eight, but you’ll be at a disadvantage. Single players can be added to teams. Each team must have a minimum of three women. If the team is mostly women, it needs at least three men.
To register, visit syracusesportsassociation.com/leagues/?lid=10111. Registration is $25 per player. Players and teams can also register at the tournament from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. All players receive a free T-shirt and goody bag thanks to event sponsors Euchner USA, Inc., Kinney Drugs, Wegmans, Honest Tea and the Maplewood Inn; lunch is also provided courtesy of longtime Dream Factory supporter Pizza Man of Liverpool.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor (event, T-shirt, keepsake or field sponsorships are available) or donating an item for the raffle or silent auction, call us at 313-4543 or email [email protected] for more information. The organization is also always looking for volunteers. To learn more about the Dream Kids, visit Facebook.com/DreamFactoryofSyracuse.
