Editor’s Note: Jamie Holmes of White Oak Pennsylvania, learned at an early age that the real joy in life began once she focused on others, instead of herself. This amazing 24-year-old young woman not only has helped herself but hundreds of others as well. In reading this week’s story of “The Dream Giver,” you’ll find truths that may change your life forever for the better. Part 3 of a 4-part series.

With Jamie's Dream Team, Jamie Holmes has set her sights on giving more than she gets!

From the time I was very young, I knew I wanted to start a non-profit organization to help others. That’s why once I graduated from high school, I started Jamie’s Dream Team. I contacted an attorney my family knew, and she filed the paperwork to create Jamie’s Dream Team for us.

As soon as we had the paperwork done, we began holding fundraising events to raise money to help other people’s dreams come true and became an action group. We stared promoting band concerts with the proceeds going to Jamie’s Dream Team. And, for instance, this week we’re promoting a pizza party with Santa to raise money. We’re also planning a fashion-show fundraiser, and we sponsor races like 5Ks and road races. We collect donations as well.

White Oak, Pennsylvania, my hometown, only has about 2,000 people. Although only a small town, everybody in the town helps work together to raise money for Jamie’s Dream Team. The local newspaper here supports us, and because we live so close to Pittsburgh, the TV stations and newspapers in and around Pittsburgh promote and support us as well. We also have people from all over who come to help us with our fundraisers.

All you have to do to be a member of Jamie’s Dream Team is go to our website www.jamiesdreamteam.org and fill out a volunteer application. Once we’ve reviewed the application, we look at how each volunteer can help Jamie’s Dream Team to raise money and help needy families’ dreams come true. We have a place on Jamie’s Dream Team for all individuals from 3-years old to 103-years old. We don’t discriminate against anyone. We’ll take all the help we can get.

Oftentimes the donations don’t come in the form of money. Some people will bake a cake and give it and/or help with or donate the decorations and a wide variety of other items we need to make people’s dreams to come true. Once we raise the money, we find people in need and try to help them.

For instance, I saw in the newspaper where a little boy had had his face disfigured after a pit bull had bitten him. So, we put-on a toy drive over one weekend. I then called the newspaper and told them we wanted to help that little boy and make his life better. The people at the newspaper said, “Ok, Jamie, here we go again.”

The news media always has helped us help others. Once we got the contact information, we took the toys to the little boy for Christmas. We gave him and his family a lot of Christmas presents, so they could have a happy Christmas.

How Jamie’s Dream Team Finds Families In Need
Some people who have needs do contact us, but we also use the news media to help discover the people we help. Because the news media in our region knows who Jamie’s Dream Team is, and what we do, they provide us with contact information to help families in need.

Once we learned about a girl who had breast cancer and needed a vehicle, so we got her a car. We also put-on princess parties for underprivileged girls or girls with illnesses who never might have had any parties in their lives.

Right now we have a man with a severe cancer problem that we’re helping, because the family has very-little income. Since they’ve never had much money, this man never has had the opportunity to have a wedding and marry the mother of his children. Last summer, we raised money and put-on a wedding for this family.

Jamie's Dream Team events make wishes come true!

Another man we met was 90-years old and a veteran from WWII. His dream was to fly in an aircraft like the aircraft he served in during WWII. Jamie’s Dream Team not only found the aircraft and someone to fly him, but then after the flight, we also provided a dinner for him and his wife at a local country club.

We met a lady who was 78-years old who had major medical problems. Her dad had been in the military, and they had lived in North Carolina where there was a big ball held. She really wanted to go to the military ball, but the family didn’t have the money. Jamie’s Dream Team raised the money to enable that 78-year-old lady and her family to travel to North Carolina and go to the ball.

And, right now, here in December, we have some families we’re raising money for to help them with Christmas. See the news story about that here: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dailynewsmckeesport/s_769189.html 

We look for people we can help. Then through the volunteers who work with Jamie’s Dream Team, we always seem to come-up with the money and the supplies we need to help these families and have their dreams come true.

Please help us spread the word about Jamie's Dream Team! Coming soon to a town near you....

I learned long ago that if I concentrate on helping others, then my medical problems aren’t nearly as bad as I think they are. Now, I will admit that from time to time I get depressed, because of all my medical issues. However, during those times, I think about all the people Jamie’s Dream Team needs to help, and I realize that I don’t have time for that depression to sink in and take over. Plus, the joy I receive from helping other people is the medicine that helps me get out of bed every day. Service to others allows me to be the most I can be and gives my life meaning and purpose.

If you would like to support Jamie’s Dream Team, checks made payable to Jamie’s Dream Team can be mailed to 2023 Cypress Drive, White Oak, 15131.

Read more: Dream Team reaches families in need this holiday season – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dailynewsmckeesport/s_769189.html#ixzz1g42yV6jY

Next: Jamie Holmes Learns That Helping Others Cures Most of Her Illnesses 

V.A.T.E.R. Syndrome Resources

VATER ASSOCIATION: CLINICAL SYNOPSIS
http://www3.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?192350.cs

VATER ASSOCIATION
http://www.childhealthinfo.com/getitem.cfm?itemnumber=1051.00000

TEF/VATER Support Network
http://www.childhealthinfo.com/getitem.cfm?itemnumber=1052

National Association of Rare Disorders
http://www.stepstn.com/nord/rdb_sum/486.htm

All About Kids World Wide Web Site Forum
http://tooltime.primax.com/aak/aak_forum/ThisSiteMenu.htm l

VATER
http://www.kumc.edu/gec/support/vater.html

The VATER-association in 3 siblings
http://www.sun.ac.za/local/academic/med/med_genetics/pac94.htm

NEW SUPPORT GROUPS
http://www.circ.uab.edu/sergg/w94/gs94w-a.htm

About the Author: For the last 12 years, John E. Phillips of Vestavia, Alabama, has been a professional blogger for major companies, corporations and tourism associations throughout the nation. During his 24 years as Outdoor Editor for “The Birmingham Post-Herald” newspaper, he published more than 7,000 newspaper columns and sold more than 100,000 of his photos to newspapers, magazines and internet sites. He also hosted a radio show that was syndicated at 27 radio stations; created, wrote and sold a syndicated newspaper column that ran in 38 newspapers for more than a decade; and wrote and sold more than 30 books. Learn more at http://www.nighthawkpublications.com