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Vision - Taylor Made Dreams wants all children with life-limiting illnesses to have the opportunity to make their dreams come true.
Mission - To facilitate the creation and delivery of a ‘Taylor-Made’ wish list experience for all eligible children aged 3-18 in the counties of Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex.
Purpose - To give those children with life limiting illnesses, and their families, a sense of purpose; the mental strength to continue; moments of comfort; a better quality of life; and precious memories to cherish.
We aim to achieve these goals through our core services shown below.
Taylor-Made Dreams assist in the creation of a unique 'TAYLOR-MADE' wish list to meet the specific needs of each child with a life-limiting illness. The wish list includes whatever the child can think of, from toys and days out, to meeting their favourite celebrities & holidays, whatever it may be, we will try our best to fulfil it.
The charity has sourced and financially supported hundreds of individual counselling, activity, play and holistic therapy sessions for service users and their primary carers. The therapy service is open to the child referred, the siblings and the primary carers of the family up to 24 sessions.
We provide a medical travel grant of £250 per family to assist with transport costs to get to clinical appointments and avoid the added stress of taking public transport. In addition the charity’s seven seated wheelchair access vehicle has enabled families to travel to activities, experiences and holidays arranged and provided by Taylor-Made Dreams.
We provide children with a medical sheepskin fleece which relieves sores and pressure points, as well as also helping to regulate temperature.
We offer multiple options for families to turn memories in to photos. The first is a family portrait experience in the form of a studio sitting. The family is sent a digital album containing up to 100 images and invited to choose a favourite image, which Taylor-Made Dreams have printed onto a canvas, a very precious memoir for the family after their loved one has left.
Where children can become their favourite character/hero as a portrait through editing. The family can then choose their favourite image in both services, with the portrait becoming a canvas and the fantasy photo becoming a canvas and other items i.e. a cushion.
In 2021, Taylor-Made Dreams setup the technology loan library. The Technology Loan Library allows us to provide hands free communication aids for children with limited mobility and/or who are non verbal. The devices we have in our library include Skyle eye trackers, Sharp early years interactive tables as well as portable screens with keyboards.
In 2022 we launched the Taylor-made Dreams Sibling Support Service to give support to the brothers and sisters of our unwell children. We provide bespoke workshops and day trips for the siblings of unwell children to be connected to other children who understand their situation, to be around other brothers and sisters who face the same challenges they do on a daily basis.
The memory keepsake service began as a gift of a silver dragonfly pendant with the child’s name engraved on the reverse, which was presented after the loss of a child, as a permanent keepsake to remember their loved one long after they have gone. Over the last few years, the service has grown to provide new keepsakes alongside the dragonfly memory pendant. We now offer: Dragonfly memory pendant, Hand casts, Fingerprint jewellery, Hair jewellery.
In 2008, Taylor Mitchell was diagnosed with a condition that changed his, and his family’s life forever. After courageously fighting against the incurable illness for four years, attending hundreds of medical appointments, undergoing many operations, and three months of painful treatment in the USA, Taylor’s family were given the devastating news that Taylor’s prognosis was terminal. It was estimated that Taylor had just two years left to live, a life shattering blow for the whole family on an unimaginable scale.
After completing Taylor’s own list of wishes, Suzi recognised the gap in charitable services to realise the unique wish lists of children with life-limiting illnesses, alongside therapeutic and counselling support for the whole family. Taylor-Made Dreams was set up in 2014, in memory of and inspired by Taylor, who sadly lost his 4-year battle against his terminal condition in September 2011, aged just 15.
Founder & CEO
Marketing
Office Manager & PA
Special Events & Community Fundraising
SSS Lead & Family Liaison
Participation Event Fundraising
