If you attended the Believe in Dreams Gala back in February 2020, you heard Mark and Jami share their remarkable story. After raising their biological children, their lives were forever changed when six siblings in their extended family, ranging in ages from 1-11, needed a loving home. Mark and Jami rose to the challenge, with so much love in their hearts, and now have legal custody of all six siblings. The children were nominated to Believe in Dreams by their school counselor and were presented with their dream come true experiences in April 2019.
Each child received their own, individual dream come true experiences from new bicycles to fishing gear; aquarium and science center memberships to a microscope and telescope; and so much more. They also received a family trip to Great Wolf Lodge. It was on this trip that, Mark heard the words, “I love you” from the children for the first time. See Mark's speech from 2020 Gala
Their dream experiences were so impactful for these children that they were inspired to give back and, “help other kids who are having bad times or getting used to a new family.” They made and donated masks to the BID team and their whole family attended the 5K race to provide support for more kids like them. But that's not all.
Believe in Dreams recently received this heartfelt letter along with a donation, from the children:
“Our forever parents have taught us that giving is joyful for the heart and healthy for the soul. They asked us to think about one of the happiest times in our life and for most of us it was when we were presented with dreams… Mom and dad asked us what we wanted to do with the money we earned from growing vegetables and helping take care of the gardens. We all decided that we wanted other kids to have happy memories like us.“
They made a generous donation of the money raised from their farmers market to pay it forward for other kids to have their dreams come true just like they did.
We'd like to extend a heartfelt Thank You to the Hayhurst family. You truly exemplify the Believe in Dreams spirit.
