VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A 15-year-old nonprofit works to grant wishes to kids who are battling cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Joan Steele founded "Toby's Dream," and it was named after beloved volunteer, Toby Vaught, who died at the age of 29. She has been able to bring in notable celebrities (Taylor Swift, Zendaya) as part of the effort to grant wishes to kids who are facing the unimaginable.
“Toby’s Dream was created 15 years ago to ensure that children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses living in Greater Hampton Roads and beyond could have the opportunity and resources to imagine and experience their most fantastic dream,” Steele said.
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Virginia Beach resident Kendall Burke has battled a rare form of pediatric cancer for the past three and a half years.
“It’s overwhelming. It’s isolating. We had to be in the hospital for a month and then in Baltimore for three months,” Burke said.
The hospital put Burke and her mother in touch with Toby’s Dream. The doctors at Portsmouth Naval, where Burke was being treated, reached out to Steele about having a wish granted — she wanted to go to Disney World.
“It’s your thing to look forward to. It’s a thing to help you get through treatment. And that was the biggest thing for me. Like, at the end of this, I get to go on my wish trip, so it definitely kept me going on those hard days,” Burke said.
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They went on the trip in January earlier this year, not long after Kendall went through a bone marrow transplant.
“It was everything. It was just everything. It was something to look forward to, and it was something we were working toward,” she recalled.
This bright, cheerful 15-year-old’s condition is stable, and she feels the Disney trip was a turning point.
“It was a lot of fun. It was kind of like a new beginning for me in a way because I was finally feeling better and it was the new year, a new start, and both of my siblings were there,” she said.
Toby’s Dream takes care of all the details — packing, airport scheduling — so the family can relax and focus on having a good time.
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Steele has been able to grant the grandest of wishes to 650 kids across Hampton Roads. She’s been able to get Taylor Swift to visit one patient. She also brought in actress Zendaya to visit another patient.
“Sometimes they come to us from the hospital as a rush, and that means the doctors have determined we need to make this happen very, very quickly. At that time, everything stops, and everything is focused on making that dream happen for that child,” Steele said.
Steele tells me that 91% of the donations they collect go directly to making wishes come true.
Making a dark time brighter for families, Joan Steele and Toby’s Dream are positively impacting Hampton Roads.
“We have a motto that no child will be turned away, and we’ve never turned away or denied a child for a dream,” Steele said.
If you'd like to help Toby's Dream continue its mission, you can donate at:
