Please accept our warmest THANK YOU from the North Pole for your participation in the 2012 Spokane Fantasy Flight fundraising campaign. Your donation will ensure that our 15^th annual event will reach 60 more homeless and at-risk children from the Inland Northwest region. The magical memories and amazing experiences that these special guests receive will be forged into their lives forever.

For Henry, this adventure experience helped him ‘believe’ again. When he was first met by the Chief Elf, Henry was ‘Mr. Not-Gunna-Happen’. He was certain he wasn’t going to meet an elf, he wasn’t going to fly to the North Pole, and certainly wasn’t going to see reindeer! All along the journey, his elf assured him that this was going to happen – all the while, Henry continued to press that it was ‘not going to happen to me – nothing good happens to me!’

So, as a final proof that he was going to experience everything promised, the Chief Elf made one final promise. “Henry, when you get off the airplane at the North Pole, you’re going to see one of Santa’s reindeer. I want you to go up and HUG that reindeer! Then, will you truly believe that AMAZING things can happen to you?” Henry agreed … and so, here’s Henry, hugging his very first reindeer and becoming a child that again believes amazing, wonderful, loving things can happen to him!

Our mission is to allow these children to become the children who believe in magic and amazing possibilities in their lives. Again, thank you for enabling this “hug-your-first-reindeer” experience!

Please accept our warmest THANK YOU from the North Pole for your participation in the 2012 Spokane Fantasy Flight fundraising campaign. Your donation will ensure that our 15^th annual event will reach 60 more homeless and at-risk children from the Inland Northwest region. The magical memories and amazing experiences that these special guests receive will be forged into their lives forever.

Let us tell you the story of “Peter.” The shelters sent us Peter with a backstory that made us all agree that it was TIME for this young man to have some amazing dreams come true in his life. To be brief, he was removed from all contact with his biological family and placed into adoption. An only child, he was left with no one in his life. Roll the clock forward — after a few years alone in the system, he had spent the summer with a prospective family interested in his adoption. They had other children so Peter was excited to have a family with brothers and sisters. Then, sadly, they decided not to adopt him. His hopes and dreams were dashed and he was alone again.

When asked about his dreams, he said, “Why have them? Nothing good is ever going to happen to me! I’ve always dreamed about flying in an airplane – but I guess I might as well forget that too!”

THEN, (because we make magic things happen!) he received his invitation to the North Pole – on a special chartered Alaska Airlines jet – with a specially assigned elf. In fact, with 250 elf friends!  The shelter called us, even before Peter attended the event, and told us that Peter’s mood since receiving the invitation had improved dramatically. He was actually smiling … some said for the first time.

On his special day in December, Peter met his new best friend, Banjo, and with his ticket in hand, those dreams that had seemed impossible a few months earlier came true!

After the event, the shelter called us and said, “Peter won’t stop smiling. He’s found a new family and it looks like he’ll be adopted very soon. He’s also decided that there isn’t a reason in the world that he can’t become a pilot! And, once he has his license, he said he’s going to fly back to the North Pole and thank the elves and his friend Banjo! ”

We’ll be anxiously waiting!