Earlier today Give Kids The World Village in central Florida debuted a brand new wheelchair accessible attraction, Kelly’s Sunny Swing.
What’s happening:
- Give Kids The World Village, the Kissimmee-based, nonprofit resort for critically ill children and their families, unveiled its newest attraction Thursday: a wheelchair accessible swing ride that seats nine.
- The ride is named “Kelly’s Sunny Swing” in honor of a child who visited the Village in the early 1990s.
- The ride was officially opened with a ceremony attended by families staying at the resort, staff, volunteers, and members of local media.
About Kelly’s Sunny Swing:
- Give Kids The World Village is built to accommodate the abilities of the critically ill children it serves – and Kelly’s Sunny Swing is no exception.
- The brightly colored swing – topped with a rainbow and smiling sun – features eight standard seats and one specially designed space to accommodate riders using wheelchairs.
- Kaylin, a 9-year-old who visited Give Kids The World in 2014, was one of the first to ride Kelly’s Sunny Swing after the grand opening. She said, “it was hands-down one of my favorite rides at the Village.”
- Kelly’s Sunny Swing is the fourth wheelchair-accessible attraction at Give Kids The World. The others are:
- A Carousel
- Child-size train
- A pedal-powered flying ride
- Zamperla, an Italian design and manufacturing company, built the swing and donated it to Give Kids The World Village. It is the third ride Zamperla has given to the Village.
- The attraction was named after a young girl named Kelly, who stayed at Give Kids The World Village in 1993.
What they’re saying:
- CEO Pamela Landwirth:“It’s so important that we make everything as accessible as possible for our visiting families. We’re very excited to unveil this new attraction. It’s going to bring a lot of joy to a lot of folks.”
- Pamela Landwirth: “Mr. Zamperla has become a dear friend. They share our passion for giving joy to
- children and our passion for accessibility.”
About Give Kids the World Village:
- Give Kids The World Village is an 84-acre, nonprofit resort built exclusively to serve critically ill children and their families.
- Children visiting Central Florida on their “wish trips,” stay with their families at Give Kids The World’s storybook Village for week-long, dream vacations.
- Give Kids The World Village provides meals, transportation, nightly entertainment, and complimentary passes to Orlando’s world-famous theme parks and other attractions.
- There is never any cost to visiting families, and no child is ever turned away.
- Since 1986, Give Kids The World Village has served more than 165,000 children and families from all 50 states and more than 75 countries.
- Give Kids The World is four-star rated by Charity Navigator, with more than 92 cents of every dollar it spends going to program services.