Santa Figueroa McCoy was reunited with her family in Pennsylvania. John Brenton was flown to Tennessee so he could have a final visit with his two sons. In the process he was reunited with his ex-wife and the two remarried. Vanessa Anderson recorded the song "Unbreak My Heart" in a professional studio with the song's author Diane Warren, and Richard Santos took a family vacation in Hawaii. Such are the things dreams are made of, and such are the dreams made possible by the Santa Barbara based organization The Dream Foundation.
For the past seven years, fulfilling dreams and wishes has been what the The Dream Foundation does. Formerly called Dalmatian Dreams, The Dream Foundation was founded by Thomas Rollerson. In 1993 Thomas was facing the imminent death of his partner of 10 years, Timothy Palmer. Timothy had one small wish; he wanted to see the Robin Williams comedy, Mrs. Doubtfire. Unfortunately the movie had not yet been released on video and Timothy was too ill to go to a theater. Thomas contacted a children's wish foundation with the hope that they could help to make his partner's wish come true, but what he found was that Timothy was considered "too old" for them to help. In fact, further research showed that although there were over 80 organizations devoted to fulfilling the dreams and wishes of terminally ill children, there was no such wish granting charities or foundations for adults. Ultimately, Timothy did get to see Mrs. Doubtfire, thanks to the production company who produced the film.
It was after Timothy's death that Thomas began to build what is now The Dream Foundation. The Dream Foundation's mission is to "enhance the quality of life for individuals and families battling terminal illnesses." Thomas has found that the dreams of adults can carry a lot of weight to them and differ from those of children. "As adults we have so much more baggage we carry when we face the end of our lives. We have major issues we are trying to resolve, and many of our dreams address these issues; families being reunited. And creating memories for children so that the parents feel that there is a positive memory that their children can hold onto after they've passed away." Seven years later Thomas' non-profit organization is still the only organization that nationally grants wishes to terminally ill adults, and so far has helped grant over 14,000 wishes.
The Foundation relies primarily on cash contributions and the use of donated frequent flyer miles to help them with their wish fulfillments, and Thomas finds himself on a constant quest for funding. "That's what brings us down," he says. "The struggle that we face every day to raise the cash, and the airline miles we rely on so severely to make these dreams come true. And to get the resources we need to keep up with the growing need. We have to ask for help every day, and nine times out of ten the answer is no. And that's hard." Still Thomas is quick to point out that the rewards of his work is worth the effort. "Families approach us in a very desperate time, a time when medicine and doctors have failed them and we remain their only hope to bring light into a very dark situation. We get to play Santa Claus, we get to make their dream come true. It is an honor to be invited into someone's life at such a fragile time and very powerful to have the ability to make a difference when no nothing else can."
If you would like to make a contribution to The Dream Foundation please go to their website or you can contact them by mail or phone at:
The Dream Foundation
621 Chapala Street, Suite D
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Tel: (805) 564-2131
Fax:(805) 564-7002 
