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For what he approximates is a dozen years, Dave Smith has been playing kickball with his daughter. “It kind of takes me back to my childhood,” Smith said. In recent years his work as a postal supervisor has limited his playing time. But on Saturday, Aug. 18, 11 a.m., at the kickball fields near Flamingo Bowl, on Route 57, Liverpool, Smith will take the field once more in the Dream Factory of Syracuse’s inaugural Kicks for Kids kickball tournament.
Dream Factory is a national wish-granting organization that seeks to help children with chronic or critical illnesses. Even though its mission is similar to that of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, that worthy group limits its mission to children who have life-threatening illnesses. The Syracuse chapter held its first official meeting in March and will introduce its first Dream Child in early September. While that child’s wish will be granted through monies from the Ithaca Dream Factory, the Syracuse chapter hopes to raise funds and spread awareness for its next Dream Child through Saturday’s tournament.
For the eight teams already signed up (the group seeks three more), the tournament presents an opportunity to turn back the clock for a cause. “I think it’s going to amplify the experience because not only are we going to go out and have such a good time, we’ll know that we’re doing it for a great cause, too. So, I think it’ll be very richly rewarding for everybody involved,” Smith said.
Monetarily, the organization hopes to raise $2,000 from registration fees, raffles, face-painting, a dunk tank and food vendors. With $2,500 already in hand from sponsors, private donations and previous fundraisers, meeting that goal would leave $500 needed to meet the $5,000 national average cost of a Dream Factory wish. Dream Children often wish to visit Disney World or meet a celebrity. The money raised covers the cost of tickets—in the case of amusement parks—travel, bedding and provides spending cash. When possible, Dream Factory prefers to send family along, too.
“{We} try to send the family as a whole so that they can create a memory with the child so that they always have that break away from everybody’s day-to-day experience. They break away from that and just have a moment to forget about it and enjoy themselves,” said Erin Wisneski, Smith’s daughter and a player for Wally’s Belvedere in the Syracuse Sports Association’s kickball league. She is also the Syracuse Dream Factory’s public relations and marketing chair.
In early 2012 her friends Valerie Glowacki and Becky Michalek were talking about starting a local chapter after Tracy Pierce, the area coordinator, reached out to Michalek. Pierce came upon Dream Factory through a friend involved in the Rochester chapter. After attending a January meeting in Rochester, Pierce decided to start a Syracuse chapter.
Michalek was a mutual friend on Facebook who, when contacted, quickly became involved. “I knew she had a travel company,” Pierce said. “So I kind of reached out to her, saying, ‘Hey, I might have some business for you. I’m going to try and start this company up.’ And then she got involved much more than I expected her to be. And she became my vice president and with her help I was able to reach out to Val and Lisa and the rest of our board.”
Wisneski, Pierce and the rest stay busy trying to get the word out to potential Dream Children. They have placed marketing materials at Golisano’s Children’s Hospital. The Syracuse chapter accepts applicants from Cayuga, Onondaga, Oswego, Oneida and Cortland counties (north of the city of Cortland).
Susie Steinbaugh, Wisneski’s teammate, expects a well-meaning day out on Saturday. Yet both she and Smith noted intricacies in the game’s strategy. “I’m not too bad,” Steinbaugh said. “I like to say that unlike the guys and the other girls that just boot it up in the air and they always get caught, I have a little bit better placement with my ball so I tend to get on base more often.”
Added Smith: “Over the years we’ve learned how to strategize about where to kick the ball in the field because it’s not very easy to kick it over people’s heads anymore. So you kind of have to place it.”
The young wish-granting chapter’s future is uncertain, yet the fulfillment of local children’s dreams remains the promising goal of the near and long terms. When asked to name the best part of her volunteer work Wisneski said, “We’re about to experience that when we do our first reveal for our first Dream Child. I haven’t experienced it yet. I’m looking forward to it, especially seeing the look on that child’s face.”
Registration for the tournament begins Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and costs $25 per player; it includes a meal ticket. Players can join pre-existing teams or call 313-4543 to form their own teams. Ninety-one percent of chapter proceeds go toward the Dream Children with the other 9 percent going to the national organization. Dream Factory employs four people nationally: two part time and two full time. All local workers are volunteers.
