Giving back: A hallmark WCI program returns
Hundreds of insurance professionals continued the tradition of volunteering their time to Give Kids the World.
After a two-year, in-person hiatus, over 500 insurance professionals from 95 companies gathered at the Give Kids the World (GKTW) Village in Orlando, Florida, to volunteer their time and talents in everything from gardening, painting, power washing and creating crafts to serving breakfast and ice cream and running rides for the village’s special guests.
Sponsored by the Workers’ Compensation Institute (WCI), the 76th annual Workers’ Compensation Education Conference (WCEC) focuses on workers’ compensation and occupational health and safety. This annual service day has come a vital part of the conference, starting eight years ago with just 40 volunteers and growing to approximately 1200 in 2019 before the pandemic forced the closure of the village and affected many in-person events. Thousands of volunteers donate their time each year, saving GKTW approximately $6 million in staffing annually.
GKTW provides a weeklong vacation for the families of critically ill children ages 2-17. The village spans 89 acres and includes 166 villas, a zero-entry pool that provides easy access for children in wheelchairs, a train ride, a seven-hole miniature golf course, an ice cream parlor, a movie theatre, a Lego room courtesy of Legoland, a beauty salon, an arcade complete with an interactive train village and more.
“Everything children might miss out on in other places, they can do here,” shared Emily, as she led a volunteer group on a quick tour of the village.
Families can only stay at GKTW one time, but they can return for special events and other activities. When they arrive at the Orlando airport, guest services staff members escort the families from the airport to their villas in the village. Currently, approximately 100 families per week are visiting.
The entire village is set up for the children. In the villas, the children get the master bedroom and bathroom and there is even ice cream-scented soap and shampoo for them. Upon arrival, one of the first places they visit is the Castle of Miracles, where their names are engraved on a gold star, which is then hung on the ceiling of the castle by Stella, the star fairy. She tracks where every child’s star hangs so that when they return for a later visit, she can show them where their stars are located.
“Each star represents a child,” explained Emily, “and there are over 178,000 stars in the castle.”
In just under four hours, the volunteer troop completed 10 different service projects that would have taken the village one to two months to complete under normal circumstances.
The GKTW Gala event and silent auction later that evening involved $117,000 in silent auction sponsorships. Altogether, the fundraising efforts raised $150,000 for this year for GKTW, which will help to bring many smiles to young guests in the months to come.
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Give Kids The World creates a night of magic for WCI attendees