KEY POINTS:
Koru Care Charitable Trust New Zealand is marking 25 years of helping children with terminal illnesses, by taking them on a two-week trip to Disneyland.
The organisation was first established after a small group of youngsters with disabilities were taken to the movies as a treat.
Koru Care,
which has taken up to 1200 children on trips to Europe and the United States, visiting Buckingham Palace, Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knotts Berry Farm and Baywatch, has recently introduced trips to Fiji and Australia's Gold Coast for children who cannot travel far.
Koru Care takes 26 children on two trips each year, but this year will take 50 youngsters on one big trip to California's Disneyland in October, to mark the organisation's silver jubilee.
Office manager Tracey Curran says Koru Care has taken children with heart conditions, kidney problems, cancer and children with disadvantaged backgrounds - all of who are excited to take a break from "a hard life", she said.
"Some of these kids haven't been on a plane and the reaction is tears. A lot of those tears are the parents' too. For many of these families, this is the first time they've been apart from their child."
Ms Curran says many children return home happier and better prepared to face their illnesses.
"A lot of them have become really independent. They meet other kids with the same illness or who are worse off and they become stronger.
"It just gives them hope and gets them through the hard times. Many of them will come back and have chemo but at least they have those memories."
Ten-year-old Chelsea Morgan of Howick, will be one of the lucky children headed to Disneyland in October. Chelsea, who has Nephrocalcinosis - a kidney disorder where there is an increased amount of calcium, says she's looking forward to the trip.
"I'm really, really excited. I've had this [condition] since I was one or a few months or something and I would go lie on my bed and that.
"I'm excited to go to Disneyland. It'll feel better."
Chelsea's mother Karen says she first heard about Koru Care years ago and later attended one of the trips as a volunteer.
Mrs Morgan says Chelsea's condition has been hard at times, requiring "24/7" care. She said Chelsea was "over the moon" when she found out she would be going and says the trip will open Chelsea's eyes up.
"It's a huge challenge for a 10-year-old - she'll be away from her family for 10 days, but it's a huge chance for her. She'll meet children who are sick as well and it'll open her world up. I know it'll be utterly awesome for her."
Mrs Morgan says they are fundraising at the moment and hopes people recognise the work that Koru Care is doing.
"They're making kids happy and that's got to be a good thing."
