Dream Factory opens new space specially designed for children battling illness

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/02/2025 (560 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A long-standing Winnipeg charity has found a new way to make dreams come true, opening a first-of-its-kind play space for critically ill children.

The Dream Factory officially hosted an open-house event Saturday, introducing the public to its new community resource centre at 93 Lombard Ave.

“Our team is really proud of the space, but I would say the overall emotion would be gratitude,” said Andrew Kussy, executive director of the Winnipeg-based charity.

“To be able to do a project like this is… a testament to the community’s belief in what the Dream Factory is, and can be, in terms of a resource for families. And that feels really overwhelming.”

The 3,000-square-foot space is dedicated to supporting families and kids who are battling life-threatening illnesses. It represents a $1.3 million investment, funded entirely through community donations.

Designed with kids in mind, the space features games, treats and resources. They can work on arts and crafts, help themselves to freshly baked cookies or ice cream and connect with other children facing similar hardships.

It is the first such space to exist in Winnipeg outside of a medical setting, Kussy said.

He hopes it will become a place for families to visit before or after medical appointments, celebrate treatment milestones, or seek solace through difficult times.

“If we can be the brightest spot of every appointment, every test every treatment — that’s what we are trying to do,” Kussy said.

“People tend to have a perception of our organization as one that is simply booking Disney trips for children. Part of our work this year is really to reintroduce the Dream Factory.”

The site doubles as an office space for Dream Factory’s eight-person team, who are dedicated to fundraising and providing financial and emotional support for families.

Last year alone, the charity provided more than $200,000 to struggling families. That money — among other things — helps cover bills, childcare expenses and pay for dedicated parking spaces at the Health Sciences Centre Children’s Hospital.

“We’re running into these folks at the grocery store, we are with them on really hard days, celebrating with them when they have medical wins and going to funerals,” Kussy said.

“We are, every day, trying to show up. Just as members of our community who are here to support families who have to go through some really difficult stuff.”

Kussy noted families who receive sponsorships from the Dream Factory are typically involved with the charity for several years — even beyond the time in which they are receiving medical treatments.

That was true for Fredy Hiebert, who connected with the service around four and a half years ago, after his son Marek was diagnosed with leukemia.

Right away, the charity gave the family $1,500 to cover mounting bills. Around a year later, Dream Factory bought them a camper trailer, to give Marek an opportunity to safely and comfortably experience the outdoors with his family.

Over the years Dream Factory has also provided Hiebert’s family with tickets to Winnipeg Jets and Blue Bombers games, and other events, he said.

“That was just to shore us up through the hardship that we were going through — you forgot all about it for a few hours and that was just a huge help,” he said.

“The Dream Factory has been a huge blessing for us, and I know for many other families, too.”

Marek, now 10, has been in remission for two years. He was one of dozens of children who got to play at the new Dream Factory location on Saturday.

He and his five-year-old brother Mirko giggled as they challenged each other in video games, gulped down cupcakes and claimed stuffed prizes from a free-to-play claw machine.

The highlight of the day was testing out the “dream machine.”

Created in partnership with leading experts in children’s museum installations, the contraption features a network of pneumatic tubes that span the Dream Factory’s ceiling. Children can make special wishes, watch them travel through the tubes and then collect them from the dream machine.

Kussy said any family or person who is younger than 18 and facing a life-threatening illness can apply for a sponsorship from the Dream Factory.

Demand for the support has never been higher, with the number of family referrals rising from 24 in 2018 to about 93 at the end of last year, he said.

The charity was created 41 years ago and previously operated from an office space on Wesley Avenue. It receives no government funding, relying entirely on donor support. People who would like to donate or volunteer can contact the organization online.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca