Chiswick's Lynette Royle joins team taking sick children on holiday of lifetime

A retired PR Director from Chiswick is preparing for a trip to Florida next month on the holiday of a lifetime for 25 children battling life threatening illnesses.

Lynette Royle, 57, formerly responsible for corporate communications at United Distillers is joining the ‘Destination Dreams’ trip organised by national charity, Caudwell Children, as a volunteer.

Lynette will form part of a support team of 30 people who will be travelling to Florida to offer logistical and emotional support to the families, ensuring that their holiday is as stress-free and as truly magical as possible.

The volunteers will also be joined by a team of doctors and paramedics provided by the Charity to tend to any medical needs the children may have during the week. The high medical dependency of most of the children means that they could never contemplate any kind of holiday without professional support.

“I have been very fortunate to enjoy good health and a terrific career, this is my opportunity to give something back to those less fortunate than myself,” said Lynette who has a long history of charity work both in the UK and Africa.

“When I retired eleven years ago I actively pursued my other interests, which included volunteering at the Upper Room, and working for the MicroLoan Foundation. I’m now looking forward to this latest challenge and the chance to help others.”

During her time in Florida, Lynette will be required to complete a number of support roles, including assisting the families, manning information points in each of the three theme parks the families will be visiting, and assisting families by taking children on the hundreds of rides and attractions.

In order to take part in the trip, volunteers have had to attend a weekend training session in London and each volunteer is also required to raise a minimum of £500, which goes towards the overall cost of taking the families to Florida.

Trudi Beswick, CEO of Caudwell Children, said: “Our volunteers play a crucial role on the Destination Dreams trip by forming a support network for the families, many of whom may have never travelled abroad or even attempted a holiday together before. For those families to be reassured that help is always at hand enables them to relax and enjoy precious time together in a happy environment, away from the hospitals and doctors appointments that fill their daily lives.”

During the families’ time in America they will visit the World-famous Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld theme parks. Each family will stay in a purpose built villa in a special resort called ‘Give Kids The World’ which is specifically designed for children with a high medical dependency.

The party of 150 people will travel from Gatwick Airport to Orlando in November. The trip is also set to be filmed for a series of short films to be shown on the Sky Real Lives channel next year.

For more information about the Destination Dreams trip or the work of Caudwell Children, or to support Lynette’s fundraising for the charity, please visit www.caudwellchildren.com or call 0845 300 1348.

October 13, 2009