Give Kids The World Village Offers Chance to Win A Magical Vacation to Make Wishes Possible for Children Like Princess Alyssa

Enter to win a Cinderella Castle Suite Stay at Walt Disney World Resort: www.gktw.org/castlepress/

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Give Kids The World Village's fundraising contest for the chance to stay in the exclusive Cinderella Castle Suite at Walt Disney World® Resort will do much more than make dreams come true for one lucky winner and three guests. Proceeds from every entry will make it possible for the Village to make an immeasurable impact on the lives of critically ill children like Alyssa Pietruszka.

In 2001, Alyssa, a vibrant, beautiful three-year-old who dreamt of being a princess, was diagnosed with a stage 3 Wilms tumor: a rare kidney cancer that had metastasized to her stomach and diaphragm. When surgery to remove her kidney, aggressive chemotherapy and radiation failed to eradicate the cancer, doctors said there was no hope for recovery. Alyssa was put into hospice care and told she had only a few months to live. A magical wish trip to Give Kids The World Village near Orlando, however, would change all of that.

Arriving at the Village weak and tired, Alyssa spent the first day in bed – but soon discovered the childlike wonder and magic awaiting her in the 89-acre storybook resort. Amidst enchanting castles, accessible rides and whimsical attractions imagined from the pages of a fairy tale, something inexplicable happened. Alyssa put on her princess dress and began laughing, walking and then running. She spent the rest of the week riding the Enchanted Carousel, eating ice cream for breakfast and just being a kid again. After a joyful week in The Place Where Happiness Inspires Hope, Alyssa and her parents returned home to Wisconsin – where scans revealed that her tumor had begun to shrink! Five months later, after a round of chemotherapy, Alyssa was declared cancer-free.

"For the first time since my diagnosis, my parents and I started laughing again at the Village; we were so busy having fun that we forgot about my cancer and prognosis. The doctors said my recovery was a miracle; but I knew it was the magic medicine of Give Kids The World that had saved my life," says Alyssa, now a happy, healthy 25-year-old who pays it forward to other wish families as a Village Ambassador.

Since 1986, nearly 200,000 critically ill children and their families have been welcomed to the Village to laugh together, play together, and create priceless memories away from hospital stays and medical treatments. To help make life-changing experiences like Alyssa's possible, Disney fans can visit www.gktw.org/castlepress/ until the stroke of midnight on October 16, 2023, to enter for the chance to win a Magical Celebration Vacation Package for four. In addition to the Cinderella Castle Suite stay, the package includes domestic round-trip airfare; a two-night stay in a standard room at a Deluxe Disney Resort hotel; 3-day theme park tickets with Park Hopper® Option; and more. For complete rules, visit www.gktw.org/castlepress.

Media Contact:
Cindy Elliott
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SOURCE Give Kids The World Village