Diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2019, Caroline Hoelscher was ecstatic when her favorite YouTuber, Tim Tracker, and his family surprised her with a meet 'n greet during her wish visit to GKTW. Thank you for making magic happen,
@thetimtracker
!
🤩 Trixie will spend the next few months living the movie star life at
@UniversalORL
! She starred in
#jurassicpark
& is part of a display marking its 30th anniversary. Trixie, gifted to GKTW by Universal Orlando, was moved from her spot in March by the Universal Creative team. 🎬
🚂 It’s
#triviatuesday
& we’re turning to the JJ Express (GKTW train) for a bit of knowledge! Here goes: what’s the name of the sleeping triceratops you pass when riding the JJ Express?
🎬 Her name is Trixie, & she starred in
#JurassicPark
& was donated by
@UniversalORL
!
🏰 We’re unveiling the chance to win a vacation package that includes a 1-night stay in the coveted Cinderella Castle Suite for you & up to 3 friends plus airfare, 2-night Deluxe Resort stay, & more! Enter for your chance to win: ! Proceeds benefit GKTW!
We're overjoyed that GKTW is back to operating at full capacity! To remain focused on our mission to create life-changing experiences for wish families, we've decided to discontinue hosting Night of a Million Lights at the Village. Thanks to everyone who made the event possible!
It was a “Full House” at Give Kids The World Village as actor
@JohnStamos
attended Night of a Million Lights with his family, along with Give Kids The World President and CEO
@PamelaLandwirth
.
More than one million lights will adorn the Village starting November 13 and we're inviting you into our gates for holiday cheer! ✨ Learn more about Night of a Million Lights:
We are beyond excited to announce that we will be reopening Give Kids The World Village beginning on January 17, 2021! Please visit for more information.
#GiveHopeToWishes
Wishes are coming true! 🌟
Give Kids The World President and CEO
@PamelaLandwirth
welcomes the first wish family back to the Village following our 10-month closure. We are beyond excited to get back to our mission of spreading joy and transforming lives!
📣 Night of a Million Lights is back...with a tropical twist! Island H2O Water Park will transform into a sparkling wonderland 11/11/22-1/1/23! Guests can visit w/Santa, see a 5-story dancing lights show, & more!
🎟 Tickets on sale:
@IslandH2OLive
Just incredible. I am so grateful for the generosity and always thrilled to raise money for
@GKTWVillage
. Thank you all for another successful Charityland, and Happy Holidays!
We are overjoyed to welcome wish families back to the Village TODAY after our 10-month closure! Thank you to everyone who has made it possible for us to continue creating the happiness that inspires hope for these precious families!
Absolutely incredible two nights at Charityland. Too many people to thank. Thousands of people made this event possible and our biggest success yet. Thank you to everyone that contributed, watched, and donated!
“It doesn’t matter what type of help you’re capable of giving, what matters is being able and willing to give.”
Thank you, Henri Landwirth, for your vision and
#GKTWVillage
. 💜
#ThoughtfulThursday
🎄Night of a Million Lights is back! Tickets are on sale now at for GKTW’s holiday lights spectacular Nov. 12 – Jan. 2 – featuring a dancing lights show, guided tram tours, a holiday marketplace, a sparkling tree trail, and all-new VIP experiences!
⭐
Wrapping up Once Upon A Village with a special dance party. Thanks
@HeartsofReality
for helping create a night to remember for our families full of magic! 🌟
Additional tickets have been added to each night from now until January 3 to enjoy Night of a Million Lights, Central Florida’s most breathtaking, socially distanced holiday walk-through display. Tickets will sell out fast – visit now!
We will debut our new Merlin’s Magic Space when wish families return to the Village! Created by
@MerlinsMagicWa1
, the space features an ADA-accessible play area, colorful character photos, and bright graphics. Thank you
@LEGOLANDFlorida
for helping us spread joy & inspire hope!
Today, w/ the help of over 200 staff & volunteers, we came together to clear the debris left by Hurricane Ian this week.
We're happy to say we will now be able to welcome families back in just a few short days! We can’t wait to see everyone’s smiling faces at the Village again.
Since 2009
#GiveKidsTheWorld
has been a huge part of my life.This
#GivingTuesday
all donations are being matched at . You can help a child with a life threatening illness & their family, escape the pain & believe in magic for a couple days.Please give❤️
.
@GKTWVillage
is an Orlando resort that hosts free vacations for kids with critical illnesses. This year volunteers came up with a new way to spread joy amid the pandemic — "Night of a Million Lights" light show to raise money to fund vacations for future visitors!
#WhatImLiking
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who has made it possible for us to continue our 35-year legacy of spreading love, joy and hope at GKTW Village. From our family to yours, happy Valentine’s Day!
We will miss you, Henri. Thank you for everything 💙 your kindness has impacted the lives of the over 160,000 wish families who had the privilege of calling
@gktwvillage
their home away from home more than you’ll ever know.
#Repost
@gktwvillage
with @…
Thank you to everyone who helped make our first-ever
#NightOfAMillionLights
holiday event such a dazzling success! Your support will help us create the happiness that inspires hope for critically ill children and their families, and we are grateful beyond words.
Have you heard of
#GiveKidsTheRides
challenge? Theme park fans are teaming up in a marathon riding experience to raise money for
#GKTWVillage
and this group started this morning! Learn more and find out how you can partake:
Opening day of Night of a Million Lights is finally here! Experience the holidays like never before with
#NightOfAMillionLights
, only at Give Kids The World Village.
Learn more about the event and purchase your tickets today:
Extreme Village Makeover is back! Over the course of just seven days next February, 142 of GKTW’s 166 wish family villas will be completely renovated. Thank you to Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Central Moving and Storage, Kellex Furniture, Simmons Mattress and Sherwin Williams.
“I never had any control over my life as a child. I think that is what inspired me to do what I’m doing today — to thank you for this life I have.”
#GKTWVillage
#HenriLandwirth
After beating cancer, Dennis and his wife, Claire, pledged to give back – devoting more than 9,000 volunteer hours to GKTW during the past 6 years. Thank you, Claire and Dennis, for your selfless commitment to GKTW and our precious families!
The nights are illuminated with Central Florida’s newest holiday attraction: Night of a Million Lights at Give Kids The World Village. Tickets are selling out fast – get yours today!
Former GKTW wish child Brianna Taylor continues to pay it forward to other wish families by volunteering and using her allowance throughout the year to buy toys for the Village. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and generosity, Brianna and family!
Over two million lights are already installed and we aren’t done yet! Join us for
#NightOfAMillionLights
opening Friday, November 13. Secure your tickets today:
We are thankful for the outpouring of support from our volunteers, partners and donors, which enables us to make magical wishes come true for critically ill children and their families. On behalf of Give Kids The World Village, happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!
On
#HarryPotterDay
, we’re reminiscing about Rupert Grint ’s visit to the Village in 2016 on behalf of our wonderful partners at the Starlight Children’s Foundation. We appreciate your huge heart, Rupert!
GKTW wish children receive a special gold star to personalize. The star is then placed on the ceiling of the Castle of Miracles - designed by
@ITECentCorp
- as a glittering reminder of each child’s magical visit to our resort. Thanks, ITEC for helping spread joy and hope!
Thanks to the support of our treasured partners, donors, and volunteers, our first-ever Night of a Million Lights was a dazzling success! View a compilation video of media coverage of the event, which will help us fulfill our mission.
“Every single person who considers themselves a Disney fan knows there’s an emoticon quality that it adds to our lives. By raising money you’re giving that experience to wish families” Pete Werner, owner and editor-in-chief of
@TheDIS
addressing live audience of
#dream20
podcast.
EXCLUSIVE: You could win a magical wedding or vow renewal at
@WaltDisneyWorld
! Here’s the really magical part: donations support
#GKTWVillage
. Enter for yourself or a loved one here:
We are overjoyed to celebrate our 35th anniversary this coming Sunday, March 7, with the grand opening of Henri’s Starlite Scoops – our out-of-this-world space-themed, accessible ice cream parlor named in honor of GKTW founder Henri Landwirth.
You did this! 👏🏽 Because of you we raised $270,305 yesterday, far surpassing our original
#GivingTuesday
goal of $150,000. The generosity shown for the children and families we serve was unbelievable. You revealed what we already know; everyone has the power to make a difference.
On
#InternationalHolocaustRemembranceDay
, we pay tribute to our founder and Holocaust survivor Henri Landwirth, who spent 5 years in Nazi death and labor camps. Like the children the Village serves, Henri knew all too well what it was like to give up childhood.
Katrina first visited
#GKTWVillage
over a decade ago. That time, it was for her wish. Now, she's returned to Give Kids The World to volunteer for two months, making the wishes of other kids magical. Welcome back, Kat!
#TransformationTuesday
🚂🚃Located in Amberville, GKTW’s 24x27-foot animated
#train
display was designed and built by John Crompton, who now volunteers four days a week maintaining, cleaning and continually enhancing the display – with David Griswold lending his support on the wiring and lighting. 💜⭐
After a seizure-free week at GKTW, Kaden - who has severe epilepsy & autism - slid into a coma. Miraculously, Kaden woke up & has been seizure-free ever since. "During those dark days, all I could think about was GKTW; we clung to those magical days for hope,” says mom Cindel. 💜
The welcome crowd for wish kids was overwhelming today. Not only did
@SomethingmAAgic
and
#gktwvillage
volunteers shout with cheer, but airport-goers joined in as well! It warmed our hearts to see people stop and take time to make these kids’ day. 💜
This weekend,
@UniversalORL
and Universal Creative got started on their holiday light installation at Marc's Dino Putt. Visit us at
#NightOfAMillionLights
to see this display in person.
🏈We were privileged to welcome NFL HoF QB
@kurt13warner
to the Village along w/5 families whose wish trips were made possible by Kurt & Brenda Warner’s nonprofit, First Things First. Thank you for your generosity, Kurt and Brenda!💜
#DYK
we're close to marking a whopping 4 MILLION volunteer hours at
#gktwvillage
? Check out what the Village means to longtime volunteer, Bob and tell us what it means to you!
Give Kids The World Village began nearly 35 years ago with a pledge by founder Henri Landwirth to never let a child’s wish go unfulfilled. To learn more about the Village - including our volunteer opportunities and upcoming events - please visit .
We hope you are enjoying Night of a Million Lights as much as Mayor Clayton is! Share your photos and experiences with us using
#NightOfAMillionLights
. ❄️
Happy
#NewYear
! We’re so excited to begin another year of wishes. 2019 means new dreams, more ice cream, more family time spent without hospital visits, and more time for children to experience the magic of joy and laughter. Who’s ready to join us?
We are thrilled to get back to our mission of creating the happiness that inspires hope for critically ill children and their families by reopening the Village on Jan. 17! Join us in helping make wishes come true:
On this day in 1994,
#GKTWVillage
cut the ribbon to open the Castle of Miracles! For the past 25 years the Castle has held a special place in the hearts of many. See photos from over the years:
Village president & CEO
@PamelaLandwirth
is welcoming the attendees to the 31st annual Black & White Gala.
#GKTWGala
“Our families come to us in the darkest hours of their life. But they walk into the castle and see those stars and know they’re not alone.”
4 MILLION VOLUNTEER HOURS! 🎉 Thank you to all who have contributed to help make this monumental success possible. To our volunteers, we truly couldn't inspire hope for families with critically ill children without all that you do. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
🐾 We had the joy of having Steve Burns from “Blue’s Clues” visit the Village this week! Not only did Steve meet and greet the wish kids and their parents, he also had the opportunity to visit with Mayor Clayton and Ms. Merry! 💙
Castle walls? Ocean waves? A giant crown? Join us at Qualatex Balloon Wonderland July 15-16 at Orlando's Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress to find out! Purchase tickets now for this one-of-a-kind event:
The Village is a family. A family that supports each other through all of life's uncertainties. Your kindness and care for each other has been incredibly inspiring. Thank you for being part of our family.
#GiveHopeToWishes
“This is the first time Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort came together creatively on a project. When you think about these two coming together to make magic for families, it’s incredible.”
@plandwirth
addressing media at exclusive hard hat tour.
#GKTWScoops
Our recreation of
@GKTWVillage
in Minecraft is now in Early Access! For $25, you can watch the construction of Give Kids The World Village with 100% of the proceeds benefitting to GKTW! You can donate for early access here:
18 wish families experienced the celebration of a lifetime as they arrived at their gate in
@MCO
last Thursday. The destination?
#GKTWVillage
and a week of wishes in Central Florida. Thanks to our friends at
@MakeAWish
and
@SomethingmAAgic
! ✈️
After a magical stay at the Village, Emily – who was not expected to survive - went on to graduate from college. Sadly, she lost her battle shortly after. Her family still supports the Village: “you gave our family memories of her we will cherish forever.”