Coach supports Dreamflight

For the sixth year running, a National Express team from our Sipson Rd coach depot near Heathrow, helped a group of youngsters with disabilities from the Cardiff area to travel to Heathrow and back, enabling them to take part in a Dreamflight charity holiday trip to Florida.

Some of the volunteer team, who used a National Express coach, fully eqipped with a wheelchair lift, to get the youngsters direct to the Dreamflight plane, also volunteered their time to support the youngsters during their dream sunshine holiday.

The children selected for the Orlando trip are arranged into 12 regional groups from all over Britain, each group made up of six girls and six boys. For every two children there is an adult to escort them. These adults always include a doctor, a physiotherapist and three nurses. Every group is headed by an experienced Dreamflight Group Leader.

Every year it costs Dreamflight in the region of £750,000 to give these children the holiday they deserve. The cost of chartering the Boeing 747 is £320,000 alone! The Dreamflight operations are conducted all year round from their Amersham office manned by just two full-time employees and one part-timer. They are supported by hundreds of volunteers from all walks of life. 300 of those are mobilised each October for the Orlando trip itself. There are many from the medical profession who give up their time freely to offer their expertise in caring for the Dreamflight children. The medical supplies and equipment however, essential for their well being are not free and cost the charity around £15,000 annually. Fortunately, over the years they have been able to attract some corporate sponsors which have given Dreamflight some financial stability. As with all charities, however they still rely heavily on fund raising events and support from companies such as National Express.