We never know when we may find angels among us. Our executive director was on a flight last fall and found herself seated next to a lovely woman who was traveling home after a weekend celebrating her college reunion with friends. The two women struck up a conversation and realized that they shared several common interests, including giving back to humanity. During their chat, the woman happened to mention that she’s married to an NFL official and our director told her that we have a Dreamer whose Dream is to go to the Super Bowl. Our director asked if her husband could possibly give us a contact within the NFL to see if we could get tickets for our Dreamer. The woman said she was almost positive he could help! 

The next day, our director received an email letting her know that two tickets had been donated to Toby’s Dream Foundation for our Dreamer to attend Super Bowl LVII! Our abundant gratitude goes out to Tammy and Patrick Holt for their generosity and compassion for a young man they don’t even know. Every day, we are surrounded by angels, like Tammy and Patrick, who make it possible for dreams to come true for our children who suffer with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. 

Fast forward to when we told Carlos, age 15, whose Dream it was to go to an NFL game, that he was not only going to an NFL game, but to THE NFL game – Super Bowl LVII! “It was amazing!” he said.

Carlos jetted off to Phoenix with his mom, step-dad, and grandma in tow. He chose to have his grandma join him for the game because, “she hasn’t been to a lot of places and she has never flown before. She loves football too and when we get a chance, we watch football together.” About his flight with his grandma, Carlos excitedly told us, “she could see the clouds and everything!” Once they touched down in Phoenix, they were off to the house they would call home for the weekend – complete with a pool and “an actual lemon tree!” Carlos said with amusement. “The scenery of Phoenix, with the mountains, was so beautiful,” his mother commented.

On Super Bowl Sunday, Carlos and his family left for the game with plenty of time to spare; however, traffic was so hectic and backed up that people were getting out of their cars on the interstate and walking to the stadium – including Carlos and his grandma! Lo and behold, they made it in plenty of time and before long were watching the Chiefs take on the Eagles. “We were right behind the goal post – the seats were great!” When we asked Carlos which team he was rooting for, he said, “I’m a Saints fan, so I was just rooting for whoever was winning. It was just so cool to be watching the game in person,” he added. “And the halftime show was so cool!” “Carlos and my mom really enjoyed the game,” his mother told us, “it exceeded all of his expectations.”

“I’m really thankful for receiving this Dream,” Carlos said. “It was a once in a lifetime thing.” His mother told us that Carlos receiving this Dream meant so much to her as a mother. “He is such a good kid, so it was nice to see that something good actually came out of all of this (his illness). There are amazing people out there who really care.” She added, “We appreciate y’all so much. One of the things that really made this trip so special was the hospitality of your great organization.” 

We are so excited that our little organization was able to make such a BIG Dream come true for Carlos. We are thankful for our partnership with Chartway Promise Foundation for their help in funding this Dream, and again, to our angels, Tammy and Patrick Holt for providing this opportunity to our organization. Carlos’s mother was right – there are amazing people out there!