Usually, social media posts encourage sharing, but we’re counting on you to keep our secret 😉
As we mentioned earlier, since November, our team has been joyfully working on preparing children’s gifts. Today is St. Nicholas Day, and we’re excited to share some wonderful news—we’ve fulfilled 42 children’s dreams. Real DREAMS!
Our Austrian team has two fairy godmothers: Yuliana Matusova and Valeria Chernyuk. This year, they became St. Nicholas’s helpers.
The girls collected a list of dreams from children at the 16th children’s hospital. Everyone had the opportunity to write down the wishes that would truly make them happy. Next, a beautiful website was created in the heart of Vienna (https://tinyurl.com/5c8a9vau), where the children’s stories and dreams were shared. The next step? Finding adults who still know how to dream and have kind hearts.
Remember how, as a child, you longed for a doll or a train set? Think today’s kids only dream about gadgets? Think again!
Hug pillows, doll strollers, sleds, footballs, crane trucks, face care kits, plush geese… and at the top of the list was Lego sets 🙂 – the most popular request. Of course, headphones, smartwatches, microphones, and mice also made the list—what digital age would be complete without them?
The Ukrainian team joined in during the charity search phase, so gifts were purchased not only in Austria but also in Ukraine.
Then came the process of delivering the gifts. Since not all parents have received and handed over our surprises yet, we kindly ask you to keep these stories confidential.
Here are three miracles:
– Vitalii, 17 years old, asked St. Nicholas for the book “Be Useful: Seven Rules for Life” by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Well, would St. Nicholas really give just one book to a child?! Remember where Arnold is from? That’s right—Austria. In Graz, where our kids go for summer rehabilitation, there’s a museum dedicated to the Great Arnie. It’s managed by his friend, whom we contacted to get an autograph. Aaaand, shhh 😉
– Roman, 11 years old, asked for virtual reality glasses with headphones.
We admit this gift exceeded the budget we shared with the kids. It remained uncertain until the last moment. Suddenly, a friend of a friend—an Austrian IT specialist—decided to buy Roman real VR glasses. A true miracle!
– Veniamin, 12 years old, dreams of portable football goals. His family’s home was destroyed by the war. Before his illness, Veniamin played football professionally. After treatment, he’s in remission but can no longer play professionally.
Could we ignore Veniamin’s dream? No! That’s why we not only bought the goals but also arranged for them to be delivered personally by Yurii and Ihor Potimkov, players from FC “Metalist 1925” (a Kharkiv club) and graduates of its academy.
We are endlessly grateful to everyone who joined this fantastic project and became part of the “Dream Factory”!
We hope you can keep a secret 😉