Ind. boy gets a "dream come true"

An 8-year-old Indiana boy battling cerebral palsy had a "Dream Come True" when he was given a trip to Disney World.

Dylan Tipton, of Liberty, was presented with the trip by Danielle Barley and her daughter, Mekinley Elrod, who are volunteers for the Sunshine Foundation.

Dylan and his family have never been on a vacation. They will head to Disney World in August.

The family will stay at the Sunshine Foundation's "Dream Village", a cluster of nine child-themed cottages on 22 acres of scrub oaks, tall pines and palmettos in Loughman, Florida. The Dream Village facility is fully ADA accessible and provides a comforting oasis for families to escape hospitals and medical treatments.

What is special about this Dream Come True is that both Danielle and MeKinley understand first hand how important this once in a lifetime trip will be for the Tipton family. Both Danielle and her daughter have been dream recipients. Danielle, who has Lupus and kidney disease, received her dream come true to visit the Dream Village when she was 16. Mekinley, who suffers from many chronic symptoms due to being born without a pituitary gland was recently sponsored by the Sunshine Foundation to visit Orlando, Florida and the theme parks.

Danielle and Mekinley wanted to help give this experience for someone else, so they held a car show fundraiser in May 2011 to answer Dylan's dream. The fundraiser helped to collect more than $835 towards Dylan's Dream Come True.

"I really know how a family and a child feel when they get their dream fulfilled. All your worries and problems fade away when you are at the Dream Village and visiting the Orlando theme parks, especially Disney," said Danielle.

The Sunshine Foundation is a 34-year-old charitable organization with a mission to answer the dreams of chronically ill, physically challenged and abused children ages three to 18.

To learn more about the Sunshine Foundation and how to help make more dreams to come true, visit the website, www.sunshinefoundation.org.

Copyright 2011 FOX19. All Rights Reserved.