Give Kids The World Village for Critically Ill Children Reopens to Wish Families Following 10-Month Closure Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

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Dec 21, 2020, 08:33 ET

KISSIMMEE, Fla., Dec. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Give Kids The World Village in Kissimmee, FL, has announced that it will be reopening to wish families on January 17, 2021, nearly 10 months from the day that it closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Give Kids The World Village is an 89-acre nonprofit resort that provides transformative weeklong wish vacations to critically ill children and their families from around the world at no cost – with more than 176,000 families served since 1986. Since mid-March, the wishes of more than 6,000 critically ill children have been postponed due to the closure.

Give Kids The World Village in Kissimmee, FL, will reopen to a limited number of critically ill children and their families on January 17, 2021, with a comprehensive COVID-19 safety plan in place - which was developed in collaboration with infectious disease specialists at Nemours Children's Hospital. www.gktw.org

Give Kids The World Village, an 89-acre nonprofit resort in Kissimmee, FL, that provides critically ill children and their families with transformative weeklong wish vacations at no cost, has announced that it will be reopening to wish families beginning on January 17, 2021 following a 10-month closure due to COVID-19 - delaying more than 6,000 wishes. With safety as its number one priority, the resort will be opening slowly, beginning with a limited number of families. www.gktw.org/donate

Best known as the voice of Princess Ariel in Disney's animated classic The Little Mermaid, Tony Award-winning actress, voice actress and singer Jodi Benson helps spread joy to a real little princess, wish child Harper Rae, during Give Kids The World Village's Night of a Million Lights holiday fundraiser. The Village has announced that after a 10-month closure due to COVID-19, it will be opening to a limited number of critically ill children and families beginning on Jan. 17, 2021. www.gktw.org

With safety as its number one priority, Give Kids The World Village will be taking a thoughtful, phased approach to reopening, beginning with a limited number of families and gradually growing its occupancy over time. The decision to reopen has been made with the full support of the Village's longtime theme park partners, Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld, and after careful consultation with the infectious disease experts at Nemours Children's Hospital. Nemours Children's Hospital experts led by pediatric infectious disease clinician and researcher Kenneth A. Alexander, MD, PhD, also worked closely with Give Kids The World to develop the nonprofit's comprehensive COVID-19 safety plan, which has been in effect since March. To view Give Kids The World's reemergence video, visit https://youtu.be/yXJI6g80oMg.

"Experts consulting with Give Kids The World have given clear guidance on the scale and staging of reopening, masking, social distancing, handwashing, food service, facilities cleaning, crowd management and transportation, and Give Kids The World has implemented all of these recommendations. Reviewing the reopening preparations at Give Kids The World, we are confident that medically complex children and their families can safely visit the Village," said Dr. Alexander.

Give Kids The World President and CEO Pam Landwirth said, "We are thrilled to be getting back to our mission of spreading joy and creating the happiness that inspires hope for critically ill children and their families through magical stays in our storybook Village."

During normal operations, Give Kids The World relies on the compassion and kindness of more than 1,800 volunteers each week to fulfill its charitable mission in support of critically ill children and their families. As the Village reopens, volunteers will once again be welcomed back for life-changing service opportunities.

Rated Four Stars by Charity Navigator – with 90 cents of every dollar donated going directly to program services, Give Kids The World Village was created by Holocaust survivor Henri Landwirth with the goal of never turning a wish child away. Thanks to the outpouring of support from Village partners, volunteers, Board members, wish granting organizations and staff, the Village will celebrate its 35^th anniversary on March 7, 2021. For more information, visit www.gktw.org.