By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

Dreams will always come true as long as Give Kids The World is operating.

Given the expansions unveiled at the Kissimmee-based organization’s 25th anniversary celebration April 14, children with life-threatening illnesses will see their dreams become reality for years to come.

“I never expected to see this,” GKTW founder Henri Landwirth, 84, said. “Looking back, I never thought it would grow as it has today.”

After serving more than 107,000 children from all 50 states and 72 countries, the organization’s Castle of Miracles, where every ill child makes a wish and places a star with their name on it on the ceiling, had filled up. To continue offering this activity, the brand-new Star Tower, which can accommodate another 70,000 stars, was built.

Ari Cohen was one of the last children to place his star in the Castle of Miracles.

“When you walk in there, you can feel (the children’s) soul and spirits,” Leah Cohen, Ari’s mother, said.

Not expected to live past his first birthday due to a rare chromosomal disorder, Ari, 8, of Boca Raton, was granted his wish to meet Nickelodeon star Blue’s Clues, a curious puppy that helps her owner Steve solve puzzles. Ari is non-verbal but spent nearly an hour coloring pictures and playing with his new friend.

“I was speechless. It’s more than I can ask for,” Leah Cohen said. “This is the only place we’d rather be (than home).”

The new Star Tower is attached to the backside of the Castle and glistens internally with a million laser-field lights that sparkle blue-green. When children place their star or visit a star they have already placed, the children can light up the room or dim the light so just twinkling or shooting stars are visible, with the touch of an iPad.

“We have some wonderful technology so the kids can come visit their stars,” Pam Landwirth, president of GKTW, said.

Sophie Young, 4, who suffers from a congenital heart defect, was the first child to place her star in the new tower. Sophie, of Prince Edward Island, Canada, demonstrated, with the help of a volunteer, how lighting and music change due to sensors on the tower’s walls and ceiling.

“The iPad technology allows the children to have a personalized experience,” Colette Krahenbuhl, GKTW public relations manager, said, adding she anticipates the Star Tower will be full in eight years due to the organization helping more than 7,000 families per year.

Children who overcome their illnesses often return with their families to visit their star and thank GKTW. Alyssa Pietruszka is one of those children.

Diagnosed with stage three kidney cancer and under hospice care at age 3, Alyssa visited GKTW for the first time.

Now a happy seventh-grader in Wisconsin, Alyssa, 13, is in remission and gives credit to GKTW for its “magical” healing power.

“Give Kids The World was my magic medicine,” she said, adding her tumor began to shrink after her visit.

Now hoping to help other children, Alyssa sells GKTW rubber bracelets and hemp bracelets with beads at school. She is nearly halfway to her $500 donation goal.

Fundraising isn’t her only strength; Alyssa hopes to become president of the organization after Pam Landwirth retires.

“I’m always by her side when she needs me,” Alyssa said. “I want to take her place and continue her work.”

“It is stories like Alyssa’s that reinforce our mission,” Pam Landwirth said. “As we look to the next 25 years and beyond, we renew our promise to never turn down a child who wish is to share in the magic of our Village.”

The organization also unveiled the Gallery of Hope, a 3,100-square-foot visitor center filled with hundreds of photographs of visiting children, volunteers helping guests and special events. The building highlights stories of guests and is a tribute to Henri Landwirth, who said, “You have my promise: I will be here for as long as long as I live.”